They are held in poor conditions without the protection of international or domestic institutions designed to safeguard their interests. Negotiations for the release of prisoners are being conducted in a haphazard manner, with no formal organizational structure empowered to negotiate with the other side. Evidence suggests that both sides have abused prisoners, though the most egregious abuses seem to have been perpetrated by the separatists, who, with Russian support, have declared the independence of Ukraine’s eastern regions, citing a host of grievances against the government in Kyiv.
Paul Stronski and Isaac Webb: Prisoners’ dilemma in Ukraine
Ukrainian prisoners of war stand inside a destroyed airport building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk on Feb. 26.
Since the start of the conflict in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and pro-Ukrainian forces, prisoners of war (POWs) have been subjected to summary executions, torture, forced labor, public humiliation, and a variety of other physical and emotional cruelties.
