“Russian forces killed Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians by placing them alive in boiling water.”

"We have recorded 695 forms of torture used against Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian hostages, as well as 860 facts of improper conditions of detention. 95% of Ukrainian prisoners of war were subjected to systematic torture in Russian prisons," he stressed.

Russian armed forces executed at least 16 captured Ukrainian prisoners of war (POW) from mid-November to January. … Nearly all released Ukrainian POWs interviewed by OHCHR described having been subjected to torture or other ill-treatment during their captivity, although several noted that treatment and conditions had gradually improved since late 2024.

Former Ukrainian detainees and Ukrainian officials accused Russia on Aug 10 of systematically torturing prisoners of war (POWs) and civilian detainees, holding captives incommunicado and subjecting them to beatings, electric shocks and sexual abuse, with thousands still in captivity.

One prisoner was doused with antiseptic and then set on fire with a stun gun. He was burning in the corridor while they stood there laughing.

Released detainees described being subjected to a wide range of methods of torture or ill-treatment. Recurrent methods included: severe beatings with a variety of instruments, such as batons and sticks, electric shocks to various body parts, mock executions, kicks, threats of death and violence to a detainee or their loved ones, a variety of stress positions, such as “bent walking” and prolonged kneeling on cement, and different forms of humiliation, including forced singing of the Russian anthem and patriotic songs.

Released detainees described being subjected to a wide range of methods of torture or ill-treatment. Recurrent methods included: severe beatings with a variety of instruments, such as batons and sticks, electric shocks to various body parts, mock executions, kicks, threats of death and violence to a detainee or their loved ones, a variety of stress positions, such as “bent walking” and prolonged kneeling on cement, and different forms of humiliation, including forced singing of the Russian anthem and patriotic songs.

In total, almost 95% of Ukrainian servicemen are subjected to systemic torture in Russian prisons. The occupiers use beatings, electricity, sexual and psychological violence, as well as set dogs on prisoners and hold show trials.

UN bodies, Ukrainian human rights organizations, and Human Rights Watch have interviewed a total of hundreds of former prisoners of war, and the evidence they collected indicates that the ill-treatment of prisoners of war is not isolated incidents, but a widespread, systemic practice of using extremely cruel physical and psychological torture to destroy the personality and sense of dignity of the prisoner.

Ukrainians held prisoner in Kherson had their hands submerged in boiling water, their fingernails pulled out and their genitals electrocuted, according to new accounts of systematic torture during the Russian occupation.

Russian serviceman Sergey Tuzhilov, call sign Altay, confessed to committing the execution. ... Tuzhilov is involved in the execution of three Ukrainian defenders who were captured in the summer of 2024. He shot one personally and participated in the execution of two others. ... Their hands were tied, they were put on their knees and eventually shot.

Others remembered seeing bodies that had been severely burned by boiling water.

U.N. human rights monitors have documented dozens of summary killings of Ukrainian and Russian prisoners of war, as well as other possible war crimes such as the use of torture, human shields and other abuses against POWs since Russia invaded its neighbor, according to a report released Friday.

"In these rooms they have a 'gentleman's kit' lying on the table — PVC pipes they beat you with, two types of shockers, a box of needles that they drive under your fingernails, bags that they put over the interrogated person's head and suffocate them. Nearby is a container of water and ice to revive those who have fainted. Sometimes they would lower the interrogated person's head into this same container and drown him there as torture," AA recalled.

Ukrainian POWs described severe beatings, electric shocks, sexual violence, suffocation, prolonged stress positions, forced excessive exercise, sleep deprivation, mock executions, threats of violence, and humiliation.

The most widespread forms of torture or ill-treatment were beatings by hand (usually with tactical gloves), batons, wooden hammers or other objects, 39 and kicks to various parts of the body, but usually avoiding the head and other vital areas. Electric shocks were also used, both with tasers and TA-57 military telephones. Other common forms of torture or ill-treatment reported to OHCHR included stabbing, strangling, suffocation with a bag, applying pressure, hitting or stepping on wounded limbs, attacks or threats of attacks by dogs, threats with weapons, mock executions, placement in a hotbox or stress position, hanging by hands or legs, burns with cigarettes or lighters, exposure to cold temperatures, twisting or breaking of joints or bones, applying a tourniquet to cause pain, with the POW fearing loss of limb due to constriction of blood circulation, and threats of mutilation with pressing sharp objects against POW’s body parts.

His office has documented 695 distinct forms of torture applied across Russian detention facilities – beatings, electric shock, strangulation, attack dogs, prolonged stress positions, sexual violence, and starvation used as coercion.

“They started torturing me right away. They beat me with stun guns, these special sticks, it was very painful. I saw how the guys started to die after that. Their hearts just couldn’t take it anymore,” said Volodymyr Shevchenko, a former POW who spent over two years in Russian captivity.

reports from formerly Russian-occupied areas such as Kherson, in the south, where Russian personnel plunged civilians’ hands into boiling water or pulled out their fingernails

They are plunged into freezing water until they convulse.

Of those victims, at least 43 per cent explicitly mentioned practices of torture in those centres – with commonly used techniques including suffocation, waterboarding, severe beatings and threats of rape, said the team led by humanitarian law firm Global Rights Compliance.

A Ukrainian widow living in the battle-scarred city of Kherson said she has come to resemble “a living corpse” after having her hands boiled and nails pulled out during hours of torture — and being subjected to a mock execution at her husband’s grave by Russian soldiers.

Troops put her hands in boiling water, ripped off her finger nails and smashed her face with rifle butts so badly she needed plastic surgery, she claimed.

Russia is pursuing a coordinated state policy of torturing Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian hostages with this constituting a crime against humanity, a new UN investigation has concluded.

"They laid down their arms, came out with their hands up, showed that they were not continuing hostilities. Russian soldiers made sure there were no weapons, took off their body armor, there are cases when they demand that they take off their clothes, force the prisoners to lie on the ground and shoot the Ukrainian military at point-blank range. This is an execution of prisoners," Lubinets said.