Russia Hides POWs From Red Cross, Then Puts Them on Trial

Russia has blocked the Red Cross from seeing Ukrainian prisoners of war since 2024, and now about 1,500 captives it never officially confirmed as prisoners face prosecution. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is meant to visit POWs under the Geneva Conventions, the international rules of war. Russia has not allowed these visits for Ukrainian POWs since 2024. Moscow has also never registered roughly 1,500 of these captives as prisoners of war. Without that status, they can be treated as criminals and put on trial. Families say finding a captive relative brings no lasting relief. According to one soldier's wife, whenever families locate a relative, Russia moves the prisoner to another facility — and contact is lost again.