Ukrainian Groups Urge WHO to Act on Torture of Captives by Russian Medical Staff

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BRATISLAVA, Oct 7 2026 (IPS) -More than 60 Ukrainian organisations have actually provided an interest the World Health Organisation (WHO)to assist stop the abuse of Ukrainians kept in Russian captivity.

Ahead of International Doctors’Day on October 5, the groups, consisting of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning organisation the Centre for Civil Liberties (CCL), released an attract the WHO, getting in touch with it to draw global attention to organized offenses of the right to treatment for Ukrainian detainees of war (POWs) and civilians unlawfully apprehended by Russian forces.

The appeal follows the release of a report, ‘Anatomy of Torture: Testimonies on Torture and Ill-Treatment by Medical Personnel in Russian Captivity’, by Ukrainian NGOs, consisting of testaments from launched POWs and unlawfully apprehended civilians, which its authors state indicate, to name a few, the systemic rejection of treatment to detainees and the direct involvement of medical personnel in their abuse and ill-treatment. In many cases this has actually led to the deaths of POWs and apprehended civilians.

The groups behind the appeal think it will increase public awareness of the treatment of apprehended Ukrainians and put pressure on global organisations to take concrete action to stop it.

“It is very important to accentuate the reality that the rejection of healthcare and the participation of medical workers in harsh treatment are not separated occurrences however form a systemic issue. We anticipate worldwide organisations not just to react with declarations however likewise to take concrete action,” Nataliia Yashchuk, Senior War Consequences Officer at CCL, which co-produced the Anatomy of Torture report, informed IPS.

Because the start of Russia’s major intrusion more than 4 and a half years back, there have actually been duplicated reports of ill-treatment of POWs and civilians kept in Russian detention centers, consisting of some that declare war criminal activities and criminal activities versus humankind dedicated versus detainees.

The Anatomy of Torture report files particularly how Ukrainians held in Russian chastening institutes have actually been, and continue to be, victims of abuse by medical personnel.

Yashchuk informed IPS that the group’s organized analysis of lots of statements showed that these were not separated occurrences however rather a repeating pattern of behaviour by medical workers in various detention centres, recommending it was a methodical practice.

This is supported by the truth that a few of those who supplied testaments for the report were medical professionals and medics themselves and for that reason specifically certified to determine the intentional and organized nature of the ill-treatment they suffered, its authors state.

“Our unbiased [with the report] was … to show the systemic nature of the issue,” Yashchuk stated.

The report consists of statement from previous Ukrainian detainees of war (POWs) who went through abuse by medical professionals and nurses at centers– CCL approximates there depend on 300 areas where Ukrainians are being held– throughout Russian-occupied areas and Russia itself.

The abuse consisted of not simply rejection of health care however likewise poundings, electrical shocks, death hazards from medical personnel, and being required to stand in one area for 16 hours and being made to plead for aid before being tortured once again.

Sergii Doroshenko, a previous paediatrician who was functioning as head of an army medical system when he was caught by Russian forces in Mariupol in spring 2022, invested 1030 days in captivity at different detention centres throughout Russia.

He informed IPS he was kept in inhumane conditions in detention centres where medical products or workers were in some cases non-existent, and any ask for medical assistance was consulted with rejection. At others he and any other medical workers apprehended were enabled to assist their own injured, however just utilizing whatever they might scavenge themselves, such as any plasters, tourniquets, or other products they took place to have.

Doroshenko stated that in one chastening center where just unpurified water was readily available to detainees, 800 individuals had intestinal tract diseases at the very same time. He and others utilized removed bark from jail premises, which they then brewed into a beverage to decrease or suppress such break outs.

“There were episodes when individuals passed out from dehydration and got no treatment, since there were no medications at all,” he stated.

He likewise explains how at another detention centre when he and others looked for medical assistance, “rather of tablets, we were treated with electrical shocks … it was the treatment for whatever– for tooth pain, for injuries from whippings, for joint discomfort, for fever, for coughing.”

In some cases medical workers actively took part in abuse.

He stated his worst experience was throughout his in 2015 of captivity when he was sent out to a correctional nest in the Republic of Mordovia in the Russian Federation.

“There, the physician personally participated in the abuse and was possibly the cruellest of all the personnel at that nest,” stated Doroshenko. He was nicknamed “Doctor Death” due to the fact that after his abuse sessions, a number of individuals needed to go through surgeries.

“There was likewise the intentional withholding of healthcare by medical personnel. Even when they saw that we had temperature levels of 39– 40 ° C, when individuals had a fever and fell under a type of intermediate state in between awareness and unconsciousness, even then, they did not allow any treatment, not even a rest from the abuse.

“For example, from my own experience, I had an extremely high fever, and for about 4 or 5 days I looked for assistance daily, and in reaction got whippings and electrical shocks, however my condition was so bad that a rash covered my whole body, from my face to my heels, and later I had peeling, shedding skin … I never ever got a single tablet, not a single antipyretic treatment– absolutely nothing however poundings,” stated Doroshenko.

He included that Russian propaganda purposefully demonised medics, that made detainees like him an unique target for abuse.

His existence in captivity was formally validated just 2 and a half years after his capture. Groups like Amnesty International have actually explained that POWs have actually been intentionally cut off from the outdoors world, typically for many years, and an absence of openness over their location has actually enabled their abuse and even illegal killings to continue with overall impunity.

“The Russian Federation just formally verified my existence in captivity after 2 and a half years. Before that, they did not formally acknowledge that I was their detainee, implying that if I had actually been eliminated or tortured to death someplace, they would bear no obligation for it,” stated Doroshenko.

“Only about 6 months before my release did they validate that they certainly held a particular Sergii Doroshenko in captivity, and afterwards, the frequency of abuse reduced substantially, the whippings reduced substantially– they began, so to speak, to take a little bit of care people, fearing that we may pass away from the abuse,” he included.

Other groups have actually likewise recorded occurrences of abuse of Ukrainians by Russian medical personnel.

A report launched late in 2015 by Human Rights Watch (HRW) recommended medical workers made it possible for or were obviously complicit in abuse, personnel at the group informed IPS.

Yulia Gorbunova, associate director for Ukraine at HRW, informed IPS that the report’s findings and continuous tracking revealed events of Ukrainian POWs being rejected fundamental treatment and discomfort management at detention centers in Russia and Russia-occupied locations of Ukraine regardless of experiencing extreme battle injuries or after being hurt throughout interrogations.

“From the minute of capture and throughout their detention, previous POWs explained healthcare at every phase as insufficient, frequently violent, and regularly kept or postponed. Treatment for fight injuries, abuse injuries, or infectious illness like tuberculosis and scabies was normally limited to fundamental bactericides or moderate pain relievers.

“In addition, these centers are run under conditions that actively break down physical health. Ukrainian detainees (POWs and civilians) withstand serious overcrowding, persistent hunger, unhygienic conditions, and an absence of tidy water, causing fast physical degeneration and neglected health concerns,” she stated.

Another current report by Ukrainian NGOs consisted of comparable findings.

Russian authorities have actually consistently rejected that any Ukrainian POWs or civilians it holds undergo ill treatment or abuse.

Reporting from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraineto name a few, has actually revealed that Russia has actually regularly declined to give independent displays access to POW detention websites.

This suggests that there are no authorities records of injuries and health problems arising from the ill-treatment and abuse of detainees.

The Anatomy of Torture report consists of an analysis recording how the reported treatment of detainees by Russian medical personnel is an offense of not just worldwide rights treaties such as the Geneva Conventions however likewise the World Medical Association’s International Code of Medical Ethics.

When IPS called them, WHO authorities were not readily available to discuss the Ukrainian organisations’ appeal.

A representative for the ICRC did not discuss the particular claims in the Anatomy of Torture report however stated the group was “worried by any reports of ill-treatment of those in captivity or detention.”

“Under global humanitarian law, all individuals denied of liberty, be they contenders or civilians, should be dealt with humanely. Look after their life, self-respect and health and wellbeing is critical. The 1949 Geneva Conventions consist of particular guidelines governing conditions of detention, consisting of access to appropriate health requirements and treatment and treatment. In all cases, the arrangement of treatment need to abide by the suitable requirements of medical principles,” the representative stated.

Some victims of the abuse and ill-treatment tape-recorded in the report are speaking out to assist bring those accountable to justice.

When Oleksandr Savov, a Ukrainian marine who participated in the defence of Mariupol, went back to his household after practically 3 years in numerous Russian detention centres, his child, Anastasiia, was delighted to be reunited with her dad however surprised at his physical state. She understood from his nearly skeletal frame that he had actually suffered while in captivity.

She informed IPS that when he had actually been recorded, he had no injuries nor diseases. When he was launched, he had tuberculosis, damaged ribs, persistent ulcers, and lymphoedema. He was not able to correct the alignment of one leg and physicians informed him he would require a knee replacement.

He likewise had psychological health issue, consisting of night horrors, anxiety attack throughout air raids, and an immobilizing worry of silence or lines.

After seeing physicians and understanding the complete degree of his injuries he started to consider what had actually occurred to him and fellow slaves and the truth that it was medical personnel who had actually caused such suffering.

“He could not comprehend how physicians might be so vicious to other individuals,” Anastasiia stated.

He informed her what they had actually done to him, consisting of not simply declining to offer treatment when he required it, however abuse with electrical shocks.

Savov passed away of cardiac arrest in November in 2015, 8 months after he was launched. He was 46. After his death, medical professionals in Ukraine discovered that his heart had actually been harmed following a cardiac arrest he had actually suffered in captivity.

He invested his last months checking out medical facilities and recording his memories in a note pad for the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Anastasiia has actually given that established a neighborhood for the households of captive marines and continues to speak up in assistance of apprehended protectors and returning soldiers. She has actually likewise submitted a problem with the ICC over her dad’s abuse.

She states that, like her daddy, she thinks that speaking up openly forces Russia to relieve conditions for those still apprehended.

She likewise states that she wishes to see individuals who tortured her dad and others brought in the past a court and held responsible for their actions.

“These medical personnel become part of a system of abuse in these jails due to the fact that when individuals request medical assistance, for example, like when my dad did, they come, and they simply chuckled in their faces and taped videos of them on their phones rather of assisting them,” she stated.

She included it is vital examinations into these individuals happen, or “this abuse and ill treatment will not end.”

This was likewise her daddy’s dream before he passed away.

“After he was launched from captivity, my dad did a great deal of interviews with reporters and human rights protectors, and when he was asked whether he felt anger towards individuals who had tortured him. He stated that at that minute, he felt absolutely nothing about them, however he desired the abuse to stop. The idea that those examples were going on at the exact same time he was speaking to those reporters actually upset him. He could not comprehend why there was nobody in the entire world who might do anything about it,” she states.

Doroshenko stated individuals associated with the abuse of Ukrainian detainees ought to deal with “something like the Nuremberg trials”.

“The conduct of the medical professionals, the medical personnel, and even common guards at these chastening centers was an intentional offense of the Geneva Convention and an intentional usage of abuse, and for that reason they need to be subject, as war wrongdoers, to judicial examination and, following that, judicial penalty in accordance with the court’s choice. These are individuals who have actually lost their mankind, who have actually ended up being monsters, and who have no right to be in society. A physician has no right to abuse others,” he stated.

Some medical professionals presumably associated with abuse of Ukrainian slaves have currently been determined, and previously this year the EU approved Galina Mokshanova, the head of the medical system of Penal Colony No. 10 in Udarny, Russia, for human rights infractions

Guaranteeing justice and responsibility is important not simply for victims and their family members, Yashchuk stated.

“This research study has to do with recording criminal offenses however likewise the immediate requirement for reliable worldwide systems efficient in conserving the lives of those who stay in captivity,” she stated.

IPS UN Bureau Report