Hostages of freedom: ukrainian prisoners of war (2014–2024)

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to analyze the issue of captivity in the context of the contemporary armed conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine. The methodological framework of the study is based on theoretical and conceptual findings of military history experts and interdisciplinary scientific approaches, integrating methods of history, jurisprudence, social psychology, and military anthropology, as well as the terminological apparatus employed in modern global socio-humanitarian studies. The scientific novelty of the material is defined by oral history sources, some of which were collected by the authors, and their original interpretative solutions. Conclusions. Large-scale military operations in eastern Ukraine have resulted in the capture of a significant number of Russian and Ukrainian servicemen. In this regard, the horrific conditions of Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) prisoners of war during the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) and the Russian full-scale invasion have gained particular resonance. Based on the testimonies of combatants returned through prisoner exchanges, the article analyzes the methods of physical and psychological pressure applied to prisoners in places of detention with the complicity of the military-political leadership of the Russian Federation. Based on the processed documentary evidence, the study proves the Russian Federation's violation of the international legal norms of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of August 12, 1949, and the effective inaction of international structures responsible for the observance and protection of international humanitarian law.