The United Nations estimates that more than 16,000 Ukrainian civilians detained by Russia during the war remain deprived of liberty, many held incommunicado and on grounds that do not comply with international law. AP reported that UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Claudia Fuentes Julio told an informal Security Council meeting convened by Latvia and the United Kingdom that “widespread and systematic torture and ill-treatment” of Ukrainian civilian detainees and prisoners of war by Russia continues, including sexual violence.
UN monitors have interviewed 403 released civilian detainees and 910 Ukrainian POWs since the invasion, finding that more than 85% of civilians and more than 95% of POWs reported torture or ill-treatment. The UN has not been able to visit detention facilities inside Russia, and its estimate does not say how many of those still held are adults or children. Civilians detained in occupied areas are often denied both POW status and meaningful civilian judicial protections, leaving many without transparent charges, family contact or access to lawyers.
The detention issue sits alongside Russia’s forced transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova over the alleged war crime of unlawfully deporting and transferring children from occupied areas. Some children have returned through outside channels: Qatar has mediated family reunifications since 2023, and Reuters reported in October 2025 that U.S. First Lady Melania Trump said she had opened communication with Putin about returning children caught in the war.
For civilian detainees, there is still no comparable return mechanism. That gap keeps the fate of thousands of Ukrainian civilians largely undocumented four years into the war.
