Ukraine Provides Russian PoWs ‘Appropriate Living Conditions,’ Healthcare And Jobs

The Ukrainian Ministry of Justice on Tuesday said Russian prisoners of war held in a camp in western Ukraine are being provided with appropriate living conditions, in stark contrast to Russia’s “brutal” treatment of Ukrainian POWs.

In a recent press release, Justice Minister Denis Malyuska said Russian POWs are being given access to healthcare and jobs while under Ukrainian custody. Aside from having their own beds, the prisoners of war are also asked to do woodwork that can benefit Ukrainian society.

"The PoW camp is guarded. Appropriate living conditions and access to healthcare have been ensured. Crucially, the prisoners of war are given work. They don’t spend their days doing nothing. They are doing woodwork and doing things for the benefit of the Ukrainian society,” Malyuska said in the press release.

The Justice Minister also noted that prisoners of war are temporarily placed in pre-trial detention centers when it is impossible to take them to a camp. However, they are held separately from convicts at the centers.

Malyuska said they hope their treatment of Russian prisoners of war would encourage the Kremlin to ensure that captured Ukrainian activists and soldiers are also given similar conditions at detention centers.

"I’m certain that if we demonstrate the conditions in which the Russian prisoners of war are held here, this footage will be seen in the Russian Federation, and we hope that they will ensure similar detention conditions for our citizens until we are able to exchange them," he added.

Russians have previously been accused of violating the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War by brutally torturing Ukrainian POWs. Earlier this month, Kyiv’s representative to Crimea Tamila Tasheva said that at least 600 Ukrainian activists, journalists and POWs are being held in torture chambers in the occupied city of Kherson. At least 300 are being held in chambers in the city proper while the other 300 are detained in nearby locations, according to the Ukrainian outlet Ukrinform.

Tasheva also noted that there are other detention centers in the Russian-occupied region of Crimea. The International Business Times could not independently verify the claims.