Russian medics torture prisoners of war: a new study by human rights defenders

On 24 June, the Center for Civil Liberties presented the analytical study “Anatomy of Torture” in Kyiv. The document examines the role of Russian medical personnel in the torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war and illegally detained civilians.

The report was prepared jointly with the NGO “Military Medics of Ukraine.” It is based on testimonies from people who have since been released from Russian captivity, along with a legal assessment of the documented cases. The authors stress that medicine in Russian places of detention has become one of the least visible — yet entirely systemic — instruments of violence against Ukrainians.

According to the human rights defenders, this is not a matter of isolated acts of cruelty or the personal “excesses” of individual doctors, but the result of a deliberate state policy. The cases of improper medical treatment are far too numerous to be dismissed as coincidence.

The documented violations breach several international norms at once — the Declaration of Geneva and the International Code of Medical Ethics of the World Medical Association, the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, and at times even Russia’s own domestic legislation.

A separate part of the presentation was devoted to personal stories. Anastasiia Savova, daughter of Oleksandr Savov — who died a few months after returning from captivity — spoke about the lasting consequences of imprisonment. “Release from captivity does not mean the end of the crime,” she emphasized.

Sofiia Krokhmaliuk is the daughter of Oleksandr Krokhmaliuk, head of the “Azov” medical service, who died in captivity as a result of torture.

“Now I know for certain that my father is dead. And not just dead — he was murdered. I know exactly who did it. I know his face. He looks like an ordinary person, a little older than me. He has a family, he has a daughter. I often think that on the day he killed my father, he probably went home, had dinner with his family, and watched TV. The most horrifying part is that this [the death of Sofiia’s father — ed. note] was not a mistake. We know of at least three servicemen who were held in Rostov and whom he killed. We cannot even bring their bodies back — their bodies are still in Russia to this day. My father’s body was returned to Ukraine. When it was returned, it had been severely mutilated. After his death, his body was disfigured to such an extent that virtually only his bones remained. Yet even these remains testify to one thing: he did not die from illness or natural causes. He was murdered,” Sofiia said.

The full text of the analytical study “Anatomy of Torture” is available at the link.