A few weeks after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the leadership of the Russian penitentiary system gave instructions to treat Ukrainian prisoners with particular cruelty. This is stated in a Wall Street Journal investigation based on the testimony of three former prisoners, official documents, and stories of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
In March 2022, the head of the Federal Penitentiary Service in St. Petersburg, Igor Potapenko, gathered special units to announce a new policy on prisoners of war from Ukraine. According to witnesses, he ordered: “Be cruel, show no mercy.”
Under the new guidelines, standard rules for the treatment of prisoners no longer applied. Wardens were allowed to use unlimited force, and body cameras, which are mandatory for prisoners in Russia, were abolished to avoid recording crimes. The staff worked in balaclavas, and the staff rotated monthly to conceal their identity.
Systematic torture: the new reality of captivity
According to former guards, Ukrainian prisoners were subjected to constant torture:
- Beatings until they lost consciousness, sometimes so intense that police batons broke.
- The use of electric shocks, in particular on the genitals.
- Denial of medical care, which led to serious complications and amputations.
- Deliberate infliction of repeated injuries on the same parts of the body to complicate the healing process.
- One witness said that he had seen cases of death from sepsis due to infected wounds that were left without proper treatment.
Former prison officials claim that brutality became the norm. Guards boasted about the amount of injuries and pain they caused. “It became part of the culture,” said one former warden.
Those who agreed to testify are now under the protection of witness programs. They have provided their testimony to the International Criminal Court, which is investigating Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine.
This testimony confirms the scale and systematic nature of crimes against Ukrainian prisoners of war, which may serve as a basis for bringing the Russian leadership to justice. The WSJ investigation demonstrates that torture was not a random act of cruelty, but part of a planned policy of terror.
