Every 25th Ukrainian fighter: how many military people have not survived the Russian captivity-AP

This is evidenced by statements by human rights organizations, UN representatives, Ukrainian authorities, as well as a forensic expert who conducted the opening of the bodies of the dead. Of the total number of Ukrainian soldiers killed in the Russian captivity, more than 50 people were victims of a colony missile firing in Olenivka. At least 245 prisoners of war were killed by Russian soldiers on the battlefield shortly after being captured.

AP interviewed 21 Ukrainian prisoners of war with relatives in captivity. Forensic sections conducted in Ukraine showed that five of them died of heart failure, among them were soldiers aged 22, 39 and 43 years. Four died due to tuberculosis or pneumonia, and one by one from infection, asphyxia and traumatic head damage.

One of the prisoners was tortured by electric shock and was brutally beaten a few days before death from heart failure and extreme exhaustion, according to the report of forensic experts, which was studied by journalists. Other experts also found signs of gangrene and unly infected infections on the bodies of prisoners of war. The death toll among Ukrainian prisoners of war will probably grow as new bodies are received and identification.

However, it is often difficult to establish the true causes of death due to damage to bodies: many returned military do not have internal organs, and traces of injuries or violence can be intentionally hidden. Lack of proper medical care, cruel torture and famine - all these factors leave a deep mark, but the poor physical condition of bodies complicates the confirmation of these circumstances.

Ukrainian officials emphasize that this impedes the full understanding of the scale of the crimes committed in captivity. According to the Ukrainian Coordination Staff on the treatment of prisoners of war, Russian invaders delay the bodies of the dead for so long that they come into a state when it is impossible to determine the causes of death. Recall that Ukraine and Russia exchanged the bodies of dead military.