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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The stories of Ukrainians who survived torture and ill-treatment in Russian captivity were presented on international platforms in Europe. The organizers of the initiative aim to secure concrete measures to protect prisoners of war and unlawfully detained civilians.
Ukrainian media outlet The Ukrainian Review presented a special issue of the magazine as part of the international No Peace Without Justice campaign in Strasbourg, Warsaw, and Andorra. The organizers described the results of the events and their next steps in their report.
What was discussed at the international meetings?
The No Peace Without Justice campaign is focused on protecting Ukrainian prisoners of war, freeing unlawfully detained civilians, and holding Russia accountable for violations of international law.
In Strasbourg, during the autumn session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, representatives of The Ukrainian Review together with PACE Vice-President Maria Mezentseva presented the campaign to European parliamentarians. The main goal was to draw attention to testimonies of former prisoners and the need to strengthen international protection for victims.
Advisor Andriy Chesnokov, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to international organizations in Vienna, with the Ukrainian team from The Ukrainian Review (Viktoriia Hodik, Mariia Poblinkova, and CEO Volodymyr Savchenko) / Photo The Ukrainian Review
In Warsaw 6 October, the special issue of the magazine was presented to the delegations of 54 OSCE participating states during the plenary session “Rule of Law.” The presentation took place with the support of the Ukrainian delegation, including Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to international organizations in Vienna, Yurii Vitrenko.
During the discussion he emphasized that it is important to distinguish gaps in international law from cases of deliberate breaches of existing norms.
If we call any shortcoming of the protection system a “gap,” we risk weakening the rules that Russia is simply deliberately violating,
he said.
He also stressed the need to document violations, preserve evidence, and establish accountability both for those who directly carried out the crimes and for their commanders.
Plenary session “Rule of Law I” at the Warsaw OSCE Conference on the Human Dimension 6 October 2026 / Photo The Ukrainian Review
What actions are being demanded to protect Ukrainian prisoners?
During the 24 autumn session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Andorra, Member of Parliament Pavlo Frolov presented the special No Peace Without Justice issue to the Assembly leadership and delegations from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and other countries.
The publication collects testimonies of Ukrainians released from Russian captivity. They describe torture, beatings, use of electric shock, denial of medical care, and the use of treatment as a means of coercion.
Frolov called to organize a separate international event in Vienna dedicated to Ukrainian prisoners of war. He proposed involving former captives, their families, human rights defenders, and representatives of international organizations.
Awareness alone is not enough. …People living under occupation or held in captivity cannot wait for the war to end. And there can be no lasting peace without justice,
the MP emphasized.
According to him, international efforts should aim to ensure the International Committee of the Red Cross has access to places of detention, to provide proper medical care, to secure the release and return of prisoners, and to hold those guilty of torture accountable.
Pavlo Frolov, member of the Permanent Delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the Assembly / Photo Facebook Pavlo Frolov
What is known about the new initiative to protect prisoners?
As part of the No Peace Without Justice campaign, The Ukrainian Review team is working on creating so-called passports of locations where Ukrainian prisoners are held.
These are special dossiers that will contain verified information about specific facilities where Ukrainians are detained. In particular, they plan to collect data on living conditions, food and medical provision, the ability to communicate with families, and the treatment of detainees.
These materials are intended to be used in appeals to PACE, the OSCE, and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. They are expected to help draw attention to documented violations and to prompt appropriate responses from international organizations.
Currently The Ukrainian Review team, together with Western partners, is developing a project roadmap and working to involve foreign states in its implementation.
Note that the special issue of No Peace Without Justice was first presented in Kyiv on 1 October 2026. Its subsequent presentations on international platforms are expected to help turn the testimonies of Ukrainians released from captivity into a basis for concrete legal and political decisions.
Recall that Ukraine continues to engage international partners in efforts to return prisoners of war and unlawfully detained civilians. In particular, the Coordination Headquarters discussed the release of Ukrainians with representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and diplomatic missions. A roundtable on tools of “quiet diplomacy” was also held with the participation of international partners.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Свідчення українських полонених представили у ПАРЄ та ОБСЄ: які нові ініціативи готують". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Channel 24.
