Russian authorities have subjected Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) and civilian captives to torture, prolonged incommunicado detention, enforced disappearance and other inhumane treatment, which amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, Amnesty International said in a new report today.

The report, A Deafening Silence: Ukrainians held incommunicado, forcibly disappeared and tortured in Russian captivity, documents how Ukrainian POWs and civilians held captive by Russia since February 2022 are being deliberately cut off from the outside world, often for years. A lack of transparency over their whereabouts has allowed for their torture and other ill-treatment in detention, and even unlawful killings of POWs, to continue with total impunity.