Red Cross says no access to prisoners of war in Russia since 2024

Ukrainian prisoners of war returning home in August 2026, as part of a prisoner exchange with Russia.

GENEVA - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been denied access to visit prisoners of war held in Russian detention since 2024, the organisation confirmed on Sept 23.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022, the two countries have swopped thousands of prisoners of war and are both believed to be holding thousands more in captivity.

ICRC said on Sept 23 that it from the start and through August had visited more than 9,800 PoWs on both sides in the conflict, but “mainly in Ukraine”.

While it did conduct visits of prisoners held by Russia early on, an ICRC spokeswoman told AFP in an email that it currently “does not have full access to all PoWs”.

“We visit PoWs and detained civilians in Ukraine, (but) in Russia our last visit was in 2024,” she said, confirming a report by the BBC.

“We seek to regain access to facilities to visit those deprived of liberty (including PoWs) consistent with our mandate.”

Visiting prisoners of war is core to the ICRC’s mission enshrined in the Geneva Conventions, which define the laws of war.

Countries, it pointed out, were responsible for ensuring it had access to “see all prisoners of war and other persons deprived of their liberty... (and) to all places where they are held and be allowed to repeat visits as often as needed”.

The organisation insists that such visits are vital for checking detention conditions, offering support and sometimes books, hygiene items and other personal necessities, and also to relay information between the prisoners and their loved ones.

“Families have the right to know about the fate of their loved ones, whether they are alive, wounded or dead,” it said.

“Many have waited anxiously for many long months, and they need answers today,” it added.

“They are impatient, as are we.” AFP