Overview

• Investigators report widespread torture, mistreatment and denial of fair trial rights, with accounts of beatings, electric shocks, use of dogs and sexual violence reported by many former detainees.
• The report concludes Russia frequently refuses to recognize captured Ukrainian fighters as prisoners of war, exposing them to criminal prosecutions and summary killings.
• At least 13,500 Ukrainian soldiers have been captured since 2022, with about 6,800 returned, roughly 6,300 still held and an estimated 169 deaths in custody.
• The UN human-rights office documented evidence or credible indications of 194 battlefield executions through May 2025, with additional reports of killings inside detention facilities.
• Russia did not cooperate with the inquiry requested by 41 of 57 OSCE states, which was conducted by three international law experts using interviews, written testimonies and other documentary evidence.