“While you wait for Christmas, we wait for the return of our loved ones from Russian captivity,” say families of Ukrainian prisoners of war who are holding gatherings to remember those held in Russian prisons and torture chambers.
Every week for years, family members and friends of Ukrainian prisoners of war, along with many other Ukrainians, have held rallies in Ukrainian cities to raise awareness about the situation of those who remain in captivity in Russia without no news from their loved ones.
“Captivity kills”, “While they are silenced, we cry out for them”, “Every day in captivity could be your last” and “Fight for them as they fought for us”: this does not These are just some of the banners that can be seen at the weekly rallies.
Almost everyone here expects someone to be returned to them. Young children wait for their fathers, women wait for their husbands.
Mothers who have not heard from their children for months, even years, and grandparents like those who came to the last rally on Saturday with the banners “I am waiting for my grandson and his brothers ‘arms’ and ‘I dream of living until my grandson comes home’.
A not so merry Christmas
Many Ukrainian prisoners of war will spend their third Christmas in Russian captivity, like the defenders of Mariupol, who became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance thanks to their fierce defense of the steelworks Azovstal during the three months of the full-scale invasion, while the southern port city was under siege.
About 2,500 Ukrainian soldiers surrendered to Russia on the orders of President Volodymyr Zelensky during the siege of the massive steel plant in May that year. More than 1,300 soldiers are still in Russian hands.
Representatives of the Association of Families of Defenders of Azovstal told Euronews that they couldn’t imagine a better Christmas present than seeing their loved ones alive and back home.
“While children in Europe and America dream of gifts, thousands of Ukrainian children dream of seeing their mothers and fathers captive at home,” said association spokesperson Marianna Khomeriki.
The primary goal of the weekly gatherings is to not let the world forget it, she explained.
“Some of the children of the captured Azovstal defenders were born after their captivity. Many mothers have not seen their sons for years and have not heard from them since their captivity,” Ms. Khomeriki said.
“This is a tragedy that should not have happened in the modern world, and the world should remember it.”
These feelings are commonly shared by Ukrainians. At the pre-Christmas rally in Kyiv, mothers of Ukrainian prisoners of war held banners reading “My son has been held captive by the Russians for 940 days. How much longer?” and “Help me bring my son back, it’s been two and a half years.”
No Christmas postcards
Many people at the rally haven’t even spoken to their loved ones since they were taken as prisoners of war. They often learn about their well-being from those who return home after the prisoner exchange.
According to the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine, nine out of ten Ukrainian prisoners of war are subjected to physical and psychological torture, sexual violence and illegal convictions.
Some are executed before being taken prisoner. Ukrainian prosecutors say that in nearly three years of Russia’s massive invasion of Ukraine, as many as 177 confirmed cases of executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war have been documented, including 109 this year.
ADVERTISEMENTWhile visual evidence of the assassination of Ukrainian soldiers by Russian troops continue to pile up, it remains difficult to prove these apparent war crimes before the International Court, as it is virtually impossible to find the bodies.
According to Ms Khomeriki, families can only hope for further prisoner exchanges, but Russia does not show much interest in returning its prisoners of war. She explained that international organizations were not doing enough and that the families’ only hope was that Ukrainian forces would “replenish the exchange fund by capturing the occupiers.”
The Third Geneva Convention – one of four treaties in total – establishes specific rules for the treatment of prisoners of war, stipulating that they must be treated humanely, adequately housed and provided with sufficient food, clothing and medical care.
Humanitarian activities, including those of the International Red Cross (ICRC) or any other impartial humanitarian organization, which may be undertaken to protect and relieve prisoners of war, must not be hindered, according to the convention.
ADVERTISEMENTAlthough the ICRC claims to have visited almost 3,500 prisoners of war in Ukraine and Russia, it admits that “to date, the ICRC does not have access to all prisoners of war.”
Ukrainian soldiers who returned from captivity and the families of those still in Russian prisons all say they have no contact and no information with those held in Russia, meaning they don’t even know not if they are alive.
Moscow is particularly reluctant to exchange the defenders of Mariupol, who were only exceptionally included in a recent prisoner exchange for Ramzan Kadyrov’s Chechen soldiers, captured since the start of the Kursk incursion in August.
“From public information from the Coordination Headquarters for the Processing of Prisoners of War, we know that we receive requests from the Russian side only to exchange prisoners captured in the Kursk sector,” Mr. Khomeriki said.
ADVERTISEMENT“The so-called Russian authorities are not at all interested in Russians captured in other regions, which generally indicates their attitude towards their soldiers.”
Everything they want for Christmas
Weekly rallies across Ukraine constantly remind Ukrainians and Europeans to “keep the issue alive and ensure that international organizations feel the pressure of having to guarantee the safety of prisoners of war in accordance with the Geneva Convention ” said Mr. Khomeriki, adding that they also provide moral support to families awaiting the return of their loved ones in captivity.
“Relatives and friends continue to believe that the defenders will return as soon as possible,” she explained.
“Relatives are especially concerned about the health of their loved ones and the physical and psychological consequences they will suffer after captivity.”
ADVERTISEMENTWhen asked what she would say to Europeans celebrating Christmas and the holiday season, Ms. Khomeriki asked them to remember “all Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian hostages and to use all means pressure to obtain their release.
“These people were taken prisoner while defending Ukraine, on the territory of their own country, and Russia has no legal reason to keep them hostage any longer,” Khomeriki said.
“The world must influence this absurd situation, draw attention to the violation of the rights of our people, the torture they are suffering from the Russians, and do everything to force Russia to return Ukrainian citizens to Ukraine” .
This is the only Christmas wish for Ukrainians who are waiting for their loved ones to return.
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