Former Ukrainian prisoners accuse Russia of systematic torture and sexual abuse in detention

At a U.N. Security Council meeting, former Ukrainian prisoners and officials accused Russia of systematic torture, starvation, and sexual abuse. Ukrainian soldier Khuan Alberto Levya Garsiya detailed daily beatings and electrocution during 1,183 days in captivity. U.N. official Claudia Fuentes Julio reported that over 95% of interviewed Ukrainian POWs experienced torture, and more than half suffered sexual violence. Russia's Maria Zabolotskaya dismissed the claims as disinformation, alleging Ukrainian abuse of Russian captives.

Systematic torture allegations

• ▪Ukrainian military member Khuan Alberto Levya Garsiya stated that Russian captors subjected him to daily beatings, electrocution, excessive exercises in freezing cold, and sexual abuse during 1,183 days in captivity.
• ▪Former Ukrainian detainees and Ukrainian officials accused Russia of systematically torturing prisoners of war and civilian detainees during an informal U.N. Security Council meeting on August 10, 2026.
• ▪Crimean Tatar activist Leniie Umerova, released in a 2024 prisoner exchange, stated she was moved through seven Russian detention facilities and subjected to torture after being detained while visiting her ill father in Crimea.

Sexual abuse of prisoners

• ▪U.N. monitoring documented sexual violence against Ukrainian detainees including rape, gang rape, beatings to the genitals, and electric shocks to the genitals and nipples by Russian Federation authorities.
• ▪U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Claudia Fuentes Julio stated that more than half of interviewed Ukrainian prisoners of war reported experiencing sexual violence in Russian detention.

UN documentation of abuse

• ▪The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights documented that about half of interviewed Russian and third-country prisoners of war held by Ukraine reported abuse during the initial stages of captivity.
• ▪U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Claudia Fuentes Julio stated that more than half of interviewed Ukrainian prisoners of war reported experiencing sexual violence in Russian detention.
• ▪The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights documented the execution of 129 Ukrainian prisoners of war and the deaths of 48 others in custody due to torture or inhumane conditions since February 2022.

Russian denial of allegations

• ▪Russian Deputy U.N. Representative Maria Zabolotskaya rejected the torture allegations as a disinformation campaign and accused Ukraine of subjecting Russian prisoners to physical and moral abuse.
• ▪Russian guards targeted Ukrainian soldier Khuan Alberto Levya Garsiya due to his Latino name, accusing him of being a mercenary and an American spy.

Detention facility conditions

• ▪Oleg Gushin of the Ukrainian government's Coordination Headquarters stated that Kyiv has identified more than 300 places of detention in Russia and occupied Ukrainian territory.
• ▪Ukrainian military member Khuan Alberto Levya Garsiya stated that two of his friends were beaten to death by Russian guards in detention centers within the Donetsk region.
• ▪Ukrainian prisoners of war were held in overcrowded barracks without adequate conditions, where almost all detainees suffered from dysentery and many starved, according to Khuan Alberto Levya Garsiya.

International accountability calls

• ▪Oleg Gushin stated that while more than 9,000 Ukrainians have been returned through prisoner exchanges, thousands of Ukrainian captives still remain in Russian detention.
• ▪Ukraine's Chargé d'Affaires Volodymyr Pavlichenko called for increased international pressure and accountability regarding Russia's treatment of Ukrainian prisoners.