More than 200 Ukrainian prisoners of war died in Russian prisons. This is a soldier’s story

Kiev, Ukraine (AP) – “Everything will be fine.”

Ukrainian soldier Serhii Hryhoriev often said in a brief call from the front that his wife and two daughters kept it in mind. His youngest daughter, Oksana, carved with phrases on her wrist.

Even after being captured by Russian troops in 2022, his anxious family still believes that he will be fine in the end. After all, Russia is bound by international law to protect prisoners of war.

However, when Hryhoriev finally got home, it was in a corpse bag.

A Russian death certificate says the 59-year-old died of a stroke. But the autopsy in Ukraine and the detained former prisoners of war tell a story about how he died – violence and medical care ignores his kidnappers.

Hryhoriev is one of more than 200 Ukrainian prisoners of war, who have been imprisoned since the Russian full-scale invasion three years ago. According to officials from human rights groups, the United Nations, the Ukrainian government and Ukrainian medical examiners, abuse inside Russian prisons may be a contributing factor to many deaths.

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