On the human cost of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the urgent need to end Russian aggression: the situation of illegally detained civilians and… prisoners of war, and the continued bombing of civilians

B100308/2025

European Parliament resolution on the human cost of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the urgent need to end Russian aggression: the situation of illegally detained civilians and prisoners of war, and the continued bombing of civilians

(2025/2710(RSP))

The European Parliament,

–having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Ukraine,

–having regard to the Charter of the United Nations, in particular Article 2(4) thereof, and to UN General Assembly resolutions,

–having regard to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Additional Protocols thereto, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,

–having regard to the Joint Statement of the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on the conclusion of the work of the Core Group on the Establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, adopted in Lviv, Ukraine, on 9 May 2025 (the Lviv Statement),

–having regard to the Agreement signed on 25 June 2025 in Strasbourg between the President of Ukraine and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine,

–having regard to the reports and conclusions of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine,

–having regard to the testimonies of former detained civilians and prisoners of war (POWs) who experienced torture and violence and witnessed their use, including executions, against fellow soldiers and fellow detainees,

–having regard to credible reports concerning mercenaries drawn into a distant war by the Russian Federation, often through deception or coercion,

–having regard to Rule 136(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.whereas the Russian Federation continues its illegal, unprovoked and unjustified full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine in violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations, accompanied by systematic violations of international humanitarian law and war crimes, including the unlawful detention of prisoners of war and civilians, all of which amount to crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide;

B.whereas reports of enforced disappearances, systematic use of torture, inhumane treatment and extrajudicial executions of Ukrainian detainees held in Russian custody have been compiled by the UN, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other international organisations;

C.whereas the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine is investigating the execution of 268 Ukrainian POWs, including 208 who were executed on the battlefield and 59 in the ‘Olenivka’ colony;

D.whereas, according to the UN, more than 95 % of Ukrainian POWs were tortured in Russia;

E.whereas 27-year-old Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna was captured by Russian forces in the summer of 2023 and was subsequently held captive; whereas in October 2024, her family received a letter from the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation stating that she had died; whereas on 24 April 2025, the Ukrainian authorities announced the repatriation of the 27-year-old’s body; whereas prior to the return of the body, multiple internal organs had been removed; whereas Roshchyna’s body showed numerous signs of torture and brutal treatment, including abrasions and bruises, a broken rib, neck injuries and possible signs of electrical burns to her feet; whereas Russia has a pattern of returning prisoners’ bodies with internal organs removed;

F.whereas thousands of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians remain in Russian captivity; whereas most of them have been denied access to medical care, communication with their families or independent humanitarian monitoring; whereas such treatment is aimed at breaking the spirit of those already disarmed and vulnerable; whereas torture is reportedly used to extract false confessions or testimonies intended to support even the most absurd narratives of Russian propaganda;

G.whereas in early June 2025, following negotiations held in Istanbul, Ukraine and Russia reached a limited humanitarian agreement to exchange more than 1 000 POWs from both sides, specifically prioritising the release of wounded, seriously ill and young soldiers under 25 years of age;

H.whereas several exchanges have taken place throughout June 2025, including the return of Ukrainian servicepeople suffering from dystrophy, ulcers, and cardiovascular and musculoskeletal conditions, as well as the handover of the remains of fallen soldiers;

I.whereas while these exchanges offer temporary humanitarian relief, they fall significantly short of the comprehensive obligations imposed on the Russian Federation by international humanitarian law;

J.whereas Russia has not provided full lists or transparent accounting of the numbers, locations or conditions of Ukrainian detainees, nor has it granted unfettered access to independent humanitarian actors, such as the International Community of the Red Cross (ICRC), or contact with families; whereas the Department for Combating Crimes Committed in Armed Conflict of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine has identified 49 permanent detention sites for Ukrainian POWs on the territory of the Russian Federation and 16 sites in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, as well as 6 detention sites for Ukrainian civilians;

K.whereas the Joint Statement adopted in Lviv on 9 May 2025 by the Foreign Ministers participating in the Core Group on the Establishment of the Special Tribunal reaffirms the critical importance of holding those who bear the responsibility for the crime of aggression accountable through a Tribunal that will operate in full compliance with international law and human rights standards;

L.whereas more than 70 000 Ukrainians are listed as missing, and more than 16 000 Ukrainian civilians are being held in Russian prisons; whereas among the detained civilians are Ukrainian artists, including military orchestra musicians, who have been unlawfully classified by Russia as POWs; whereas this reflects a broader Russian strategy of targeting cultural figures and those serving Ukraine in symbolic or morale-boosting roles;

M.whereas the taking and detention of civilians as hostages is expressly prohibited under international humanitarian law; whereas this practice is being systematically applied by the Russian Federation against Ukrainian civilians in occupied territories and beyond;

N.whereas as of June 2025, Russia has illegally imprisoned 221 people in the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol on ethnic, religious and political grounds, including 133 Crimean Tatars;

O.whereas over 5 600 Ukrainians have been documented as victims of torture in criminal proceedings;

P.whereas since the beginning of 2025, the Russian army has launched nearly 27 700 guided aerial bombs, almost 11 200 Shahed drones, around 9 000 other types of attack drones and more than 700 missiles, including ballistic missiles;

Q.whereas in June 2025, Russia used around 2 800 attack drones, nearly 3 000 guided aerial bombs and 140 missiles of various types against Ukraine;

R.whereas Russian forces continue to carry out systematic drone attacks on Ukrainian cities bordering the front line, targeting civilians in the course of their daily activities, including by striking ambulances and rescue personnel; whereas the use of drones against clearly identifiable civilian targets, the dissemination of footage of these killings and the posting of explicit threats on social media demonstrate a coordinated state policy aimed at terrorising the population and forcing displacement;

S.whereas the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights estimates the number of civilians killed in Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion stands at 13 341 with a further 32 744 people injured;

T.whereas these numbers underestimate the true toll due to monitoring difficulties, especially on Ukrainian territories that are currently under Russia’s occupation;

U.whereas in May 2025 alone at least 183 civilians were killed and 836 were injured in Ukraine as a result of Russia’s strikes;

1.Expresses its strongest condemnation of the continued unlawful detention, enforced disappearance, systematic torture and inhumane treatment of Ukrainian POWs and civilians by the Russian Federation, in flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions and the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law;

2.Strongly deplores Russia’s indiscriminate attacks on Ukraine’s civilian areas, including its systematic drone attacks, which are a part of a coordinated state policy, and expresses its strongest condemnation of Russia’s blatant disregard for human life;

3.Highlights the need to ensure a stable, predictable and timely supply of weapons and ammunition in larger quantities to Ukraine in order to increase Ukraine’s capabilities to defend itself and its citizens;

4.Urges the Russian Federation to immediately agree to and implement a comprehensive ‘all-for-all’ exchange of POWs with Ukraine, in accordance with its obligations under international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War; stresses that such an exchange is a humanitarian imperative and a vital step towards alleviating the suffering of detainees and their families; calls for the EU and its international partners to exert pressure on Moscow in order to facilitate this process;

5.Strongly condemns the systematic execution of Ukrainian POWs by Russian forces as a grave and egregious violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War and of international humanitarian law; calls for accountability at all levels, including political and military leadership; calls for increased support to Ukrainian and international judicial bodies documenting and prosecuting these atrocities;

6.Demands an immediate end to all atrocities committed by Russian forces in Ukraine and calls for independent, impartial and international investigations to ensure that all perpetrators – including those who directly carried out abuses and those who ordered or enabled them – are held fully accountable; underlines that, together with its international partners, the EU will ensure that all those responsible – at every level of the Russian state – face justice;

7.Urges the Russian Federation to immediately release the imprisoned Ukrainian civilians, including artists, military orchestra musicians, journalists and other civil society representatives;

8.Welcomes the Joint Lviv Statement of 9 May 2025 and the conclusion of the technical and legal work of the Core Group, which marks a decisive milestone in the creation of a Special Tribunal within the framework of the Council of Europe;

9.Supports the 25 June 2025 Agreement between Ukraine and the Council of Europe and welcomes the adoption of the Statute of the Special Tribunal, which ensures the Tribunal’s independence, jurisdiction, and capacity to hold high-ranking state officials accountable for the crime of aggression;

10.Stresses that the Special Tribunal is a necessary and complementary mechanism to the International Criminal Court, enabling the prosecution of crimes committed by the aggressor against Ukraine and its population;

11.Urges all Member States, the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the candidate countries and democratic partners to support the Tribunal; highlights the need for legal assistance, diplomatic engagement and operational resources to make accountability for the crime of aggression an enduring pillar of the EU’s foreign and security policy;

12.Calls on the Russian Federation to immediately disclose the identities, locations and health conditions of all Ukrainian prisoners of war and detained civilians, and to grant full, immediate and unimpeded access to the ICRC, UN bodies and other impartial international observers;

13.Condemns in the strongest possible terms the unlawful detention of Ukrainian civilian journalists by the Russian Federation; recalls in this context the horrific case of journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna; considers such acts a direct assault on press freedom, democratic values and international law; calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all journalists held in Russian custody and stresses that their continued detention constitutes a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions;

14.Urges the EU and its Member States to support the creation of an independent international investigative mechanism or the appointment of a Special Rapporteur under the auspices of the UN, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, or the Council of Europe to monitor the situation of detained journalists in Russian-occupied territories; calls for this mechanism to collect evidence, assess detention conditions and advocate for accountability, in line with the EU’s commitment to press freedom and the rule of law;

15.Urges the EU and its Member States to impose further targeted sanctions on individuals and entities responsible for or complicit in the unlawful detention and ill treatment of Ukrainian detainees and the obstruction of humanitarian access to them;

16.Demands that the EU further increase the pressure of sanctions against the aggressor by targeting key sections of the Russian economy, countering sanctions’ circumvention that significantly lowers the oil price cap on Russian oil, and further limiting Russia’s access to high-tech components and equipment manufactured abroad, among other things;

17.Underlines that it is unacceptable that, in the fourth year of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, Russian missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles used in attacks continue to rely heavily on Western-manufactured components; calls on the international community to actively support and join Ukrainian investigations into such cases, and to step up efforts to dismantle the chain of intermediaries through which the Russian Federation obtains critical technologies;

18.Strongly condemns the confirmed recruitment and deployment of Cuban nationals, including through deception and coercion, into the ranks of the Russian armed forces, notably in units such as the 106th Airborne Division; notes that, after North Korean soldiers, Cuban nationals represent the second-largest foreign contingent within the aggressor’s army; calls for an urgent international investigation into Russian transnational recruitment and trafficking networks, including those operating between Russia and Cuba, which exploit vulnerable individuals under false pretences of employment and ultimately lead them into forced military conscription; urges social media platforms to remove content linked to pro-Russian propaganda and so-called assistance for enlistment; underlines growing suspicions that the Havana Government is silently facilitating the deployment of mercenaries to the war and may even be directly sending its own security personnel, thereby supporting its long-standing partner in the conflict in exchange for substantial financial compensation per mercenary; warns that the case of Cuba sets a dangerous precedent and should serve as a stark warning to other states or actors considering similar vicious engagements;

19.Expresses unwavering solidarity with the Ukrainian people and reaffirms its commitment to achieving justice for victims of aggression and unlawful detention, as an essential foundation for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine;

20.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the President, Government and Parliament of Ukraine, and the Russian authorities.