Between March 2022 and June 2024, four camps for holding prisoners of war were set up in Ukraine and additional arrangements were made for their accommodation, security and medical care in penitentiary institutions.
This was reported by the Accounting Chamber based on the results of the audit.
‘UAH 294.2 million was directly allocated for these purposes. Charitable organisations and foreign partners, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, provided significant support to ensure proper conditions for prisoners,’ the report says.
At the same time, the audit found that the Ministry of Justice should address the issue of re-profiling institutions into camps more comprehensively, including a strategy for their use in the post-war period.
The Accounting Chamber provided recommendations to ensure separate accounting for the costs of detaining prisoners of war and transparency in the use of these funds.
- At the beginning of the year, it was reported that there are already two camps in Ukraine for holding Russian prisoners of war, and a third is planned to be opened. In May, a new prisoner-of-war camp, Centre-3, was opened and received its first Russian prisoners.
- In October 2024, Ukraine opened a new camp for Russian prisoners of war, Centre-5, which has special conditions for holding wounded soldiers.
- Prisoners of war are held in Ukraine in accordance with the requirements of the Geneva Convention. They can send and receive letters from their families, and jobs have been created for them.
- However, the health of Ukrainians who have returned from Russian captivity is quite poor. Most of them need rehabilitation, they have chronic diseases that require medical care. Over 90% of the prisoners were tortured.
- Russia also uses prisoners of war to provoke protests in Ukraine.