The New Yorker Details 223 Ukrainian Women Held by Russia, With 2 Torture Cases From Rostov
Updated
Updated · Meduza · Aug 15
The New Yorker Details 223 Ukrainian Women Held by Russia, With 2 Torture Cases From Rostov
2 articles · Updated · Meduza · Aug 15
Summary
At least 223 Ukrainian civilian women are among 1,878 confirmed civilians held by Russia, The New Yorker reported, describing torture, inhumane conditions and little prospect of release because civilians are not exchanged like POWs.
Rostov pretrial detention center No. 1 housed women with sharply different cases: some with military ties were later swapped, while civilians without such ties remain in custody under Russian terrorism and treason convictions.
Valentina Zayarnaya, 66, received a 12-year sentence after helping a Ukrainian officer who hid his identity; she said FSB officers beat her son, threatened him and coerced her confession before she attempted suicide.
Natalia Vlasova, 44, has spent more than seven years in detention and said she was tortured for months at Donetsk's Izolyatsia prison with electric shocks and sexual abuse before receiving an 18-year sentence.
Ukraine says the detentions violate the Geneva Conventions because civilians should not have been imprisoned at all, leaving their return unresolved even as public campaigns by relatives keep the cases visible.