Yuri Kobzar23:36, 06.02.26

The decision to systematically torture Ukrainians was made at the very top, Olga Romanova believes.

An unspoken rule in Russian prisons and penal colonies is that captured Ukrainians can and should be abused . The corresponding order was apparently issued personally by Vladimir Putin , Russian human rights activist and head of the “Rus’ Sidyashchaya” (Sided Russia) foundation Olga Romanova explained in an interview with DW .

According to her, after the start of the full-scale war, a separate, unofficial regime was created for Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian hostages who ended up in Russian prisons. 

“The heads of the FSIN (Federal Penitentiary Service) gathered everyone and said that Ukrainian prisoners of war are not subject to FSIN orders or internal regulations. This means they don’t have even the few rights that Russian prisoners have. In other words, there are strict regulations specifically for Ukrainians,” Romanova asserts.

She emphasized that the abuse of Ukrainians in Russian prisons is not an isolated incident, but a systemic practice that includes torture, beatings, sexualized violence, and even medical abuse. 

“Remember the Ukrainian prisoner of war who was exchanged, with the words ‘Glory to Russia!’ carved into his stomach? And it was done by a medic. It was done in Donetsk by a surgeon sent from Moscow,” Romanova noted.

According to the human rights activist, such a system could not have emerged spontaneously—the power vertical precludes it. Romanova is convinced that the abuse of Ukrainians is a political decision made at the very top.

“Who can give such an order to the heads of the FSIN’s main directorates? The FSIN director. And the only person above the FSIN director is Putin. That’s it. A short chain of command,” says Romanova.

(c)UNIAN 2026