Ukrainian held in Germany on suspicion of spying for Russia as Merz warns of more cases

About 1,500 Ukrainians detained by Russia and in occupied Ukraine are facing criminal charges, despite the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) never confirming their status as prisoners of war, according to Petro Yatsenko, a representative of Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. This situation comes to light during an event at UN headquarters in New York, organized by the permanent missions of Ukraine and Poland to the UN, discussing missing persons.

Without confirmation from the ICRC, these individuals lack official documentation of their life or captivity, leaving them without the necessary protection under the law. Amnesty International refers to this as enforced disappearance, a practice that strips individuals of legal safeguards. The ICRC itself has been barred from visiting Ukrainian POWs, with Russia refusing access since 2024, in violation of the Geneva Conventions, which obligate the ICRC to inspect prisoner of war camps. UN investigators have documented evidence of systematic torture in these detention centers.

Families are increasingly disconnected from their loved ones as Russia transports captives between prisons without informing them, making it difficult to maintain contact. While the majority of detained Ukrainians are military personnel, a significant number are civilians, including young people under 30 and older individuals over 60. Among these are about 200 young individuals born after 2000 and nearly 400 people over 60, none of whom have been validated by the ICRC.

Secrecy and torture are pervasive in Russian captivity, as highlighted by a March 2025 report by Amnesty International. In a survey of 43 families of confirmed POWs, 24 families reported no contact with their relatives at all. Furthermore, only 21 out of 174 former POWs who spoke to Amnesty could correspond with their families, revealing a chilling level of silence that enables abuse.

Torture methods include beatings, electric shocks, burns, and sexual violence. The UN has concluded that this torture constitutes a coordinated state policy.

An OSCE mission found that Russian staff often presented only prisoners in good physical condition during ICRC visits, hiding the sick and tortured. Additionally, Russia blocked visits to some facilities and provided incomplete prisoner lists, further obstructing transparency. A quarter of the 3,767 POWs who returned to Ukraine as of November 2024 remained unconfirmed by Russia, according to the Coordination Headquarters, leaving dozens or even hundreds more potentially detained without ICRC confirmation.