A former Ukrainian prisoner of war has described enduring "every imaginable form of torture" during 1,183 days in Russian captivity, including daily beatings, electric shocks, and sexual abuse. Khuan Alberto Levya Garsiya stated that two of his friends died from beatings while in detention centers in the Donetsk region, and many other prisoners suffered from starvation and disease.
"Anything you can think of that can be done hurtful, humiliating to a man, unwillingly. Anything that comes to your mind, not only verbal, physical abuse, daily beatings, electrocution, excessive, excessive exercises in freezing cold when it's minus degrees… sexual abuse," Garsiya told reporters following a United Nations meeting. He added that prisoners were housed in "overcrowded barracks without adequate conditions," leading to widespread illness, including dysentery.
Garsiya, whose father is Cuban, said his captors singled him out due to his name, accusing him of being a "mercenary and an American spy." He was eventually freed after more than three years, but thousands of Ukrainian prisoners are believed to remain in Russian hands.
His account aligns with findings from a UN meeting where over 95% of interviewed Ukrainian prisoners of war reported experiencing torture or mistreatment. More than half also reported sexual violence, including rape, beatings while nude, genital torture, and degrading sexualized treatment.
At the UN Security Council meeting, former detainees and Ukrainian officials accused Russia of systematically torturing prisoners of war and civilian detainees, alleging incommunicado detention, beatings, electric shocks, and sexual abuse. Crimean Tatar activist Leniie Umerova, released in 2024, described her detention experience as a "carousel of repression" and accused Russia of using torture.
Oleg Gushin, of the Ukrainian government's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, stated that Kyiv has identified over 300 detention sites in Russia and occupied Ukrainian territory. While more than 9,000 Ukrainians have been returned through exchanges, thousands are still held captive.
U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Claudia Fuentes Julio confirmed that UN monitoring indicates "widespread and systematic torture and ill-treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees by the Russian Federation authorities continues," including sexual violence. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has documented the execution of 129 Ukrainian POWs at the start of their captivity and the deaths of 48 in custody due to torture, denial of medical care, or inhumane detention conditions since February 2022.
Reports also include severe beatings with various objects, electric shocks, dog attacks, and mock executions. Ukraine's Chargé d'Affaires Volodymyr Pavlichenko urged greater international pressure and accountability for Russia's actions.
Russia's Deputy UN Representative Maria Zabolotskaya dismissed the allegations as a "disinformation campaign" and counter-accused Ukraine of torturing and mistreating Russian prisoners. Fuentes Julio acknowledged that the UN has documented torture and ill-treatment of Russian and third-country prisoners held by Ukraine, but stated it occurred on a "fundamentally different scale."