**Russia Pressures Relatives of Ukrainian POWs**
The Russian military and intelligence services are trying to influence the families of captured Ukrainian soldiers. The Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of POWs reported this on January 27.
Russian forces call the relatives of captured soldiers immediately after they are taken prisoner. They try to pressure them into cooperating with Russia by asking for money, important information, or making illegal deals in exchange for promises of better treatment or being included in prisoner exchanges.
“This is done to shock and emotionally pressure the family into cooperating,” said the Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters.
This is another example of how Russia is treating Ukrainian captives poorly. There have been several prisoner exchanges between Ukraine and Russia during the conflict, but Russia has been accused of slowing down these swaps and spreading false information to destabilize Ukraine.
Ukrainian authorities have found that Russia is violating international laws by mistreating captured soldiers. In 2024 alone, over 100 Ukrainian POWs were executed, according to Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets. There have been many reports of torture, murder, and poor treatment of Ukrainian captives in recent months.
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office is investigating a case where six Ukrainian POWs were summarily executed by Russian troops in Donetsk Oblast on January 23.
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