NEW YORK — The United Nations presented evidence at a Security Council meeting on August 11, 2026, detailing widespread and systematic torture, sexual violence, and executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees by Russian forces. The briefing outlined ongoing abuses against more than 16,000 civilians estimated to remain in Russian custody during the war in Ukraine.

Latvia and the United Kingdom called an informal meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Monday to discuss civilians and soldiers detained during the war. Claudia Fuentes Julio, the U.N. assistant secretary-general for human rights, addressed the council with findings from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

\"Widespread and systematic torture and ill-treatment of both Ukrainian civilian detainees and prisoners of war by Russia are continuing, including sexual violence,\" Julio said. The presentation relied on interviews conducted by U.N. human rights staff with 910 Ukrainian prisoners of war and 403 civilian detainees following their release since the invasion began in February 2022.

The data revealed that more than 95% of interviewed Ukrainian prisoners of war reported being tortured or ill-treated. Among civilian detainees, 85% reported similar abuse. The U.N. has not been able to visit detention facilities in Russia, limiting direct verification of current conditions inside the country.

Khuan Leyva Garsiya, a Ukrainian soldier who was held at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol before surrendering to Russian forces in May 2022, spoke at the meeting. He spent 1,183 days as a prisoner of war and weighed 55 kilograms (120 pounds) when he was freed.

\"Two of my friends were beaten to death in detention centers in the Donetsk region,\" Garsiya said. He described the fatal outcomes of captivity, stating that two of his friends died because of the conditions they were put in in Russian prisons and were returned in plastic bags to the homeland.

The OHCHR has documented the execution of 129 Ukrainian prisoners of war at the beginning of their captivity. Additionally, the office recorded the deaths of 48 Ukrainian prisoners of war in custody resulting from torture, denial of medical care, or other inhumane conditions since 2022.

Sexual violence emerged as a consistent method of torture. More than half of interviewed Ukrainian prisoners of war reported sexual violence, including rape, gang rape, beating while nude, beatings to the genitals, electric shocks to the genitals and nipples, and degrading treatment of a sexualized nature. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine (COI) reported in March 2025 that Russian forces systematically used sexual violence as torture against male detainees, with most victims experiencing rape or degrading treatment.

In 2025, the ICRC reported 75 visits to 22 detention facilities in Ukraine holding 16,580 individuals, but no access to Russian detention sites, limiting verification of conditions for Ukrainian detainees in Russia. OHCHR interviewed 62 Ukrainian civilian detainees in 2026, with 30 reporting sexual violence, including electric shocks, forced nudity, and threats of rape.

Leniie Umerova, a Crimean Tatar human rights activist, provided testimony regarding her detention. She was detained in December 2022 while traveling to Crimea and held on espionage charges before being released in September 2024. Umerova was detained while trying to enter Russia from Georgia to visit her father in Crimea, which has been occupied by Russia since 2014.

During her captivity, Umerova was moved to seven different detention facilities over six months. She stated that at least 84 women have faced criminal prosecution in Russian prisons. Umerova was released in a prisoner exchange in 2024.

Maria Zabolotskaya, Russia’s deputy U.N. Ambassador, responded to the allegations during the session. \"The aim is to derail efforts towards a peace settlement and to justify strikes on the territory of Russia and against civilians,\" Zabolotskaya said.

The briefing also included findings on the treatment of Russian personnel. U.N. human rights experts interviewed 816 Russians and 57 third-country national prisoners of war from over 45 countries who were members of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine. About half of the interviewed Russian and third-country prisoners reported torture or ill-treatment, primarily during initial captivity and interrogation by Ukrainians.

U.N. monitors reported that conditions in Ukrainian detention facilities generally comply with international humanitarian law and have improved since 2022. Volodymyr Pavlichenko is Ukraine’s deputy U.N. Ambassador, and Oleg Gushin is with the Ukrainian government's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Kyiv has identified more than 300 places of detention in Russia and occupied Ukrainian territory.

More than 9,000 Ukrainians have been returned through prisoner exchanges. Prisoners were held in overcrowded barracks where almost all POWs were ill with dysentery and many were starving. The U.N. received consistent accounts of severe beatings with objects such as batons, heavy belts, and wood, electric shocks, dog attacks, mock executions, and other forms of torture.

Research titled Ensuring Information Security: Countering Russian Disinformation in Ukrainian Speeches at the United Nations was published in 2024. Research titled The International Administration of Occupied Ukrainian Territory as a European and United Nations Diplomatic Option was published in 2025 in Revitalizing the United Nations.

The presentation of evidence at the Security Council shows the scale of alleged abuses four years after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. With more than 16,000 civilians estimated to remain deprived of their liberty and limited international access to detention sites in Russia, the findings indicate the challenges in verifying conditions and ensuring accountability for detainees.

The documentation of 129 executions at the start of captivity and 48 deaths in custody points to a pattern of lethal violence against prisoners of war. The inclusion of testimony from released detainees like Garsiya and Umerova provides specific accounts of the physical and psychological toll of detention, while the response from Russian officials frames the allegations as part of a broader geopolitical conflict rather than isolated incidents.

Why It Matters

With more than 16,000 civilians estimated to remain in Russian custody and no U.N. access to verify conditions inside detention facilities, the documented pattern of systematic torture and executions affects a large population of unseen detainees. The high percentages of abuse reported by released prisoners and civilians indicate that severe violations are widespread rather than isolated incidents. These findings highlight the urgent stakes for those still deprived of liberty who cannot currently be reached by international monitors.