How Many Ukrainian Pows Are in Russian Captivity and What Do We Know About Them?

Russia does not disclose how many Ukrainian soldiers it holds in captivity and has blocked access for international monitors, including the Red Cross. But based on Ukrainian government records, testimonies from released prisoners, and partial figures provided by Russian officials, at least 8,000 Ukrainian POWs are believed to remain in Russian prisons, according to estimates cited by the BBC.

In a March 2025 report from Amnesty International, they describe a prison system built not just to detain but to disappear. Ukrainian POWs are held without contact, denied access to the Red Cross, and subjected to starvation, beatings, electric shocks, and psychological abuse. It’s not just illegal under international law—it seems to be a deliberate attempt to erase these people from public consciousness.

In June 2024, Putin claimed 6,465 Ukrainian military personnel were in Russian custody—a figure that can’t be verified and hasn’t been confirmed by the ICRC, which is still denied full access to many detention sites.

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War in Ukraine

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Both Russia and Ukraine are signatories to the Geneva Conventions, which outline the legal protections for prisoners of war, civilians, and wounded combatants during conflict. However, while Ukraine has broadly adhered to these obligations, Russia has treated international law more as suggestions than binding rules. 

The Geneva framework lacks an enforcement mechanism—there’s no army behind it and no immediate consequences for violations. Russia understands this and has repeatedly exploited that gap, confident that legal accountability is slow, political, and often symbolic.

On the Ukrainian side, the treatment of prisoners is not only better, but it’s also open. Russian POWs receive medical care, are allowed contact with their families, and benefit from regular visits by international monitors. Ukraine has consistently upheld the Geneva Conventions. The contrast speaks for itself.

How many soldiers has Ukraine returned

As of March 2025, Ukraine has conducted 62 prisoner exchanges, bringing home 4,306 citizens, according to Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets. These include both soldiers and civilians, because, unlike Ukraine, Russia continues to capture and detain civilians in occupied territories, including volunteers, aid workers, and even local officials. 

The latest exchange on March 19 secured the release of 197 defenders, a moment of hope for some families but a painful reminder for many others who still haven’t come home.

Behind every swap are months of negotiations, mediated in part by international allies and third parties. But these efforts remain incomplete. Among the soldiers are tens of thousands of Ukrainians who are considered missing under “special circumstances” by Ukrainian authorities. 

According to Amnesty International, “Many are likely in detention, while others may have been killed. In some cases, Russia has acknowledged individual POWs’ captivity by notifying the ICRC as required by international law. However, it’s likely that Russia has not notified the ICRC of the status of hundreds or thousands more POWs.”

President Zelenskyy has proposed a one-to-one exchange of all prisoners—Ukrainian and Russian—as part of his broader peace formula. The offer remains on the table. Moscow has not seriously moved forward on any talks about this.

Azov as an example of Russia's inhumanity

The siege of Mariupol in 2022 was one of the earliest—and most devastating—episodes of the full-scale invasion. For nearly three months, Ukrainian defenders—including marines, National Guardsmen, border guards, police, and civilian volunteers—held out under relentless bombardment at the Azovstal steel plant. In May, more than 2,500 soldiers surrendered, including several hundred from the Azov Brigade. They were registered as prisoners of war by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

What followed was a near-total blackout. Access to many of the captured soldiers was cut off. Russia blocked or delayed Red Cross visits, and families back home were left without confirmation of their loved ones’ condition or location.

In a 2024 statement, Azov Brigade commander Denys Prokopenko said that around 900 Azov servicemen remained in Russian captivity. Russian authorities have refused to recognize them as lawful combatants under the Geneva Conventions, instead labeling them as terrorists. This classification has opened the door to extended detentions, closed trials, and widespread reports of abuse.

The Marine Corps faces similar losses. As of early 2025, at least 1,300 Ukrainian marines are confirmed to be held in Russian prisons, with a roughly equal number still listed as missing. Families of the captured have submitted petitions, contacted international organizations, and launched public campaigns—many still waiting for confirmation that their relatives are alive.

Some of the captured have resurfaced not through humanitarian channels but in Russian courts. In January 2024, a military court sentenced 23 Azov fighters to prison terms ranging from 13 to 23 years, accusing them of participating in a terrorist organization. Legal experts and human rights groups condemned the move, calling it a clear violation of the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit prosecuting prisoners of war for their involvement in lawful combat. The trials were widely seen as political, intended to legitimize long-term detentions and reinforce Kremlin narratives.

POWS become targets for attack

On July 29, 2022, an explosion tore through a detention facility in Russian-occupied Donetsk, killing more than 50 Ukrainian prisoners, most of them defenders from Azovstal. Russia claimed a Ukrainian HIMARS missile had struck the site, but satellite imagery showed no impact crater. 

A CNN investigation, citing US officials, later assessed that the blast likely originated from inside the building. Russia denied access to international investigators, and no independent examination of the site has ever been allowed. Nearly three years later, there has been no accountability.

The Free Azov movement

The absence of answers gave rise to one of the war’s most visible civil society campaigns in Ukraine: FREE AZOV. Originally organized by the families of Azovstal defenders, the movement has grown into a sustained national and international effort. 

Relatives hold regular demonstrations, deliver open letters, and coordinate online pressure campaigns—all aimed at keeping prisoners of war in the public eye and on the political agenda. As one wife of a captured soldier told UNITED24 Media, “We’ve learned how to speak publicly, how to organize, how to demand—not just ask. Because no one else is going to do it for us.”

There are few firsthand accounts of what captivity in Russia looks like. One exception is Shaun Pinner, a British citizen who served in Ukraine’s Marine Corps and was captured during the battle for Mariupol. Sentenced to death by a Russian proxy court, he later described being beaten, starved, and forced to record staged confessions. His case drew international attention and remains one of the few documented glimpses into what many Ukrainian prisoners may still be enduring, far from public view.