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On average, Ukraine spends 3,000 hryvnias per month on one Russian prisoner of war, and prisoners are fed the same way as officers of the Ukrainian army. Such are the conditions in the camp for Russian prisoners of war in Ukraine, where, in addition to the Russian military, there are also captives from the «LNR» and «DNR» terrorist groups. This is stated in the material of the Radio Liberty journalist Halyna Tereshchuk.
Prisoners of war are kept in a camp located far from the front line. The place is not named for reasons of safety of the Russian prisoners of war themselves. The number of people being held is also not being disclosed as negotiations are ongoing.
There are three structural divisions in the camp: quarantine, individual work with adaptation, and enhanced control. Quarantine in order to study the personality, detect some diseases, in particular infectious ones. In the residential area, prisoners of war live in rooms with 10 to 15 beds. There is a low bedside cabinet near each of them. A rosary is tied to the headboard of one of the beds.
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From the attached plates with the captives’ names and dates of birth, it becomes clear that they are mostly young people, the oldest one is 54 years old. There is a room where the captives watch television. Like in penitentiary institutions, there is a clear daily schedule – food, leisure, watching television, walking, and working time. Prisoners of war are engaged in woodworking – in particular, they make pallets.
According to the Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine, Olena Vysotska, Russia is not interested in their exchange, so it’s unknown what will happen to the prisoners of war after the end of the war.
«Russia is absolutely not interested in these people, they should understand and know that. The whole world must understand that this is the use of people in war. Not only are they fighting in the most dangerous areas, there are a lot of victims, but they are also being treated passively as prisoners. I think that even after the end of the war, we will have trouble dealing with these people. All of them have the status of prisoners of war,» – says Olena Vysotska.
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According to her, these prisoners are treated with maximum civility, normal conditions are created for their maintenance. On average, Ukraine spends 3,000 hryvnias per month on one prisoner of war. But this is without taking into account the wages of employees of the penitentiary institution, as well as capital expenditures. Actually, this is the amount that only goes to food, bedding, hygiene products for the prisoner.
«The conditions of prisoners’ detention should be like those of the military. The Geneva Convention obliges a detaining power to feed its captives as it feeds its armed forces. A prisoner of war eats like an officer of the Ukrainian army,» – said Olena Vysotska.
We will remind that the Minister of Justice, Denys Malyuska, said that a camp for prisoners of war from Russia was created in Ukraine in one of the western regions. Those prisoners of war who are not planned to be exchanged are placed in such an institution. Soldiers of the Russian Federation, prisoners of war who were recently captured or who may be exchanged in the near future, are distributed among the institutions of the Ministry of Justice throughout the country.
Photo by Halyna Tereshchuk/ Radio Liberty
Translated by Vitalii Holich
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