KYIV – Large-scale prisoner exchanges have been the only tangible result of three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine, between May and July – with the most recent taking place on Sunday. Three civilian women from the Donetsk region who were released on 14 August testified to the torture they endured in Russian prisons over six years of captivity.
Yuliia Panina, Maryna Berezniatska and Svitlana Holovan made their way to the stage to loud applause from the audience of a few dozen, gathered for a press conference in Kyiv on Friday.
The three women were introduced by Liudmila Huseynova, director of the NGO Numo Sisters and herself a survivor of Russian prisons, having endured three years of torture in the illegal Izolyatsia detention centre.
She told the audience: "Not long before joining us, [these women] wondered if they would ever be able to speak Ukrainian again, after being forced to speak Russian throughout their captivity."
In Russian detention centres, prisoners are forbidden from speaking their own language, under threat of torture.
'Tears and joy are all mixed together'
The three women, all civilians, were arrested in 2019 in their respective cities, facing unfounded charges of espionage, extremism and terrorism.
Yuliia Panina was abducted by Russian security services while taking her 13-year-old daughter to school in the city of Donetsk.
She was the first to speak, sharing her first impressions after her release: "When we crossed the border and arrived in the Chernihiv region, we saw Ukrainian flags. People were waving at us. It was wonderful to see that – a huge relief."
Yuliia too was held at Izolyatsia, a former cultural centre in the city of Donetsk, now used as a prison – a place where Russian guards commit atrocities against Ukrainian prisoners of war.
"For us, it was a miracle, and we are here. But back there, in detention, there are still women, at least six, who have been held for a long time," she said.
Svitlana Holavan, a worker in a fish-curing factory in Novoazovsk, a town on the Russian border a few kilometres from Mariupol, on the shores of the Sea of Azov, was arrested at her home – because some of her relatives live in independent Ukraine.
This was enough to mark her as suspicious in the eyes of the illegal occupation authorities.
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"I still can't believe that this hell, which has ruled my life for six years, is over. When I saw all the people who welcomed us when we arrived by bus, I felt positive emotions that I hadn't felt in six years," she said.
"I prayed so hard for this to happen, and my ordeal is finally over. We waited a very long time for this moment, survived torture, but hope always endured. Soon, I will be able to see my children again, who have grown so much, which is why my emotions – tears and joy – are all mixed together."
Svitlana's daughters, Anna and Sofia, first found refuge in Mariupol then in the west of the country and finally in Germany, where they are still living. A family reunion is planned for the coming days.
Interrogations, isolation and sexual abuse
Maryna Berezniatska, who was the director of a dog shelter, was arrested on suspicion of cooperating with Ukrainian secret services.
She said: "I'm still trying to come to terms with everything that happened. When I was released, I couldn't express my feelings, and I still can't. It's hard to immediately understand that it's true, that it's all over, that a new life is beginning, that all of that is behind us. The worst part was the suffering of our families while they waited. We were all strong, but it was difficult."
All three spoke in hushed tones about the torture they endured – although without going into detail.
What they were unable to put into words, others – including Liudmyla – have spoken about before: endless daily interrogations, isolation, humiliation, physical and sexual abuse, mock executions, and deprivation of the most basic rights such as access to water, food, hygiene and medicine.
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They also testified as to what they need now – and what is lacking.
Liudmyla highlighted the urgent practical support required for the three women, and many other former detainees.
"You have to build yourself up psychologically and physically. I remember that for the first six months after my release, I still had adrenaline rushes. You feel strong, you think you can overcome it on your own, but after a few months, all the physical and mental health problems start, and they overwhelm you," she said.
"Psychologists help us, and I'm grateful for that, but when you have nowhere to sleep, it doesn't help... People have been coming back from captivity for 11 years and this problem still hasn't been solved."
From the audience, representatives of various organisations supporting former prisoners promised help, while Viktor Missak, the representative of the attorney general, took the floor to assure the women that justice will be done.
"We are doing everything we can to record and bring to justice all those responsible. Many people have committed war crimes, including Russian soldiers and the directors of illegal detention centres," he said.
"We are identifying them and charging them in absentia, and one day they will sit in the dock before a Ukrainian or international court and be tried."
'Russia appears to have abandoned the rulebook'
Since 2022, more than 60 prisoner exchanges have taken place between Russia and Ukraine.
The most recent exchange saw "146 Russian servicemen" and "146 prisoners of war of the Ukrainian Armed Forces" transferred on Sunday, according to the Russian defence ministry – although Kyiv did not confirm any figures for the release.
But while Ukraine has opened the doors of its detention centres to international institutions, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, to show that the human rights of prisoners are being respected, in accordance with international conventions, the fate of thousands of Ukrainian prisoners – men and women, civilians and military personnel – in Russia remains extremely precarious.
Russia has been accused of systematically torturing civilians in occupied regions of Ukraine.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Alice Jill Edwards, last week sent a dossier of torture allegations to Russia – highlighting in particular the use of sexualised torture and detailing the cases of 10 Ukrainian civilians abused in occupied regions of Ukraine.
The cases involved rape, threats of rape, and electric shocks administered to the genitals. The 10 civilians – four women and six men – were also beaten, kicked, blindfolded and subjected to simulated drownings and mock executions.
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"They represent however only a small snapshot of a wider, well-documented pattern of risks of torture to civilians in occupied areas," Edwards said in a statement.
"A rudimentary rule of international warfare is that civilians are to be protected. Russia appears to have abandoned the rulebook entirely. It is high time that they were held to account for these unlawful practices and more pressure brought to bear by all States with influence over them."
Edwards also noted that arbitrary arrests and detentions and enforced disappearances were being used in Ukraine's occupied territories – particularly in Kherson, Kharkiv and Zaporizhia.
One of the women concerned remains detained in Russia and an appeal for her urgent release has been launched, according to the statement.
Ukraine is demanding the return of all its prisoners, but so far Russia has not agreed to an "all for all" exchange. For now, Yuliia, Svitlana and Maryna are among the lucky ones.
(with newswires, and adapted from this story and this story by RFI's French service)
