A public presentation of the study “Violations of Prisoners of War’s Rights to Healthcare and Medical Treatment: Consequences, Legal Qualification, and Prospects” was held at the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. The event took place at the initiative and with the support of Deputy Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament Olena Kondratiuk.
The study was conducted by experts from the NGO “ANTS” Network for the Protection of National Interests and the NGO “International Centre for Ukrainian Victory (ICUV)” in close cooperation with the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
The research is based on in-depth interviews with Ukrainian military medics who endured russian captivity and were forced to provide medical assistance to other wounded prisoners themselves.
Opening the event, Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Olena Kondratiuk stressed that russia is systematically committing genocide at the state level behind closed doors against Ukrainian military personnel and civilians held in russian captivity.
Currently, around 7,000 Ukrainian servicemen are being held in russian captivity, while the number of civilians, according to various estimates, ranges from 10,000 to 20,000.
"More than 95% of Ukrainian POWs are subjected to torture and ill-tretament in russian captivity, as confirmed by official reports of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine and in accordance with the data from the Ombudsman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. This is state policy. The research which is presented today is the first to document its medical dimension with evidentiary precision," noted Olena Kondratiuk.
“Wounds left to fester. Amputations without anaesthesia. Teeth pulled out without anaesthesia by drunk staff. Removal of tourniquets from the wounded after the Olenivka terrorist attack. Deliberate denial of medical assistance as a weapon. Legally, these are gross violations of multiple provisions of the Geneva Conventions. These are war crimes under Article 8 of the Rome Statute,” added Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Olena Kondratiuk.
She also recalled that PACE registered this in two relevant resolutions in October 2024 and June 2025, directly stating that the treatment of Ukrainian POWs is systematic and indicative of russian state policy.
"Deportation and abduction of children, mass military crimes, torture of prisoners. Putting the pieces together, we see that this war is genocidal. Our task is to build a proper evidentiary base to prove this and bring those responsible to justice," emphasised Olena Kondratiuk.
That is precisely why, she says, such research is extremely important and essential.
"What we still do not have in sufficient volume is sanctions pressure — both against russia as a whole and against specific executives. Against doctors who refused to help. Against the superiors who gave the orders. Today's investigation provides material for this. And I expect that the diplomats who attended the event will use it as an evidentiary basis for new targeted sanctions," stressed Olena Kondratiuk.
The Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine thanked human rights defenders and those who returned from russian captivity for the conducted study and for openly sharing their experiences. She noted that this reflects exceptional courage, strength of will, and resilience.
She emphasised that the study is not a human rights manifesto, but an evidentiary base.
“Today we need not rhetoric, but facts that can be brought to court, used to establish accountability, and to punish those responsible for russian war crimes. This is an extremely valuable and important piece of work,” said Deputy Speaker Olena Kondratiuk
The event was attended by, in particular, the Human Rights Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Dmytro Lubinets, Chair of the Committee on Legal Policy of the Verkhovna Rada Denys Maslov, Deputy Head of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War Andrii Yusov, Military Ombudsman Olha Kobylynska, Chair of the Board of the Network for the Protection of National Interests “ANTS” Hanna Hopko, Andrii Naiman, a released prisoner of war and military medic whose testimony formed the basis of the study, as well as Ukrainian MPs, human rights defenders, ambassadors, and representatives of the diplomatic corps.