As of August 2026
When we talk about Ukrainians in Russian captivity, it is important not to reduce everything to a single figure. There are prisoners of war, there are civilians whom Russia is unlawfully detaining, and there are people who are missing. Some of those who are missing may be in captivity, but the state does not yet have enough information to confirm this.
According to the latest publicly available estimates by the Ukrainian authorities, around 7,000 Ukrainian servicemen remain in Russian captivity. As for civilians, the UN estimates that more than 16,000 Ukrainians have been unlawfully deprived of their liberty by Russia.
These are different categories. And behind every one of these figures there is a person and a family waiting for them.
Torture: These Are Not Isolated Cases
One of the most disturbing findings in UN reports is the number of people who, after returning from Russian captivity, describe torture.
The UN interviewed 454 Ukrainian prisoners of war who had been released. Ninety-five percent reported torture or ill-treatment.
People described beatings, electric shocks, suffocation, threats to kill, and sexual violence. Some were forced to remain in painful positions for long periods or subjected to other forms of physical and psychological abuse.
It is important not to interpret these 95 percent as a statistic covering all Ukrainian prisoners of war. The UN does not have access to all places where Russia holds Ukrainians. This figure comes from interviews with a specific group of people who had already returned home.
But the problem is that similar testimonies are repeated again and again.
At the end of 2025, the UN interviewed another 187 Ukrainian servicemen who had been released. 185 of them reported torture or ill-treatment. Many also reported sexual violence.
That is why the UN speaks not of isolated incidents, but of the systematic nature of torture.
And this does not concern military personnel alone.
Among released civilian detainees, the UN has also documented beatings, electric shocks, mock executions, threats, sexual violence and the denial of necessary medical care. The UN reports also describe these practices as widespread and systematic.
According to the UN, 84 percent of released civilian detainees interviewed by the Mission in the relevant sample reported torture or ill-treatment.
In other words, the problem does not end with the moment of detention. A person may remain subjected to violence throughout their time in captivity.
Executions: When Captivity Ends in Killing
There is another subject that is particularly difficult to discuss: the execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
International humanitarian law protects a serviceman who has surrendered or been captured. He is no longer taking part in hostilities and cannot be killed.
Despite this, the UN continues to document cases in which Ukrainian servicemen are killed after they have already come under the control of Russian forces.
According to the latest UN-confirmed figure available in 2026, 129 Ukrainian prisoners of war and other servicemen who had ceased to take part in hostilities were executed by Russian forces. This figure is contained in a UN report published in 2026.
What is particularly alarming is that such cases began to increase sharply after August 2024.
The UN has also confirmed at least 16 executions of captured Ukrainian servicemen between mid-November 2025 and January 2026.
Again, it is important to understand that 129 is not necessarily the total number of people killed. It is the number of cases that the UN was able to confirm.
Each such case means not only the death of a person. For a family, it often also means months or years of uncertainty. If Russia does not confirm that a serviceman was in captivity, relatives may not know what happened to him.
Civilians: A Separate and Extremely Difficult Problem
Prisoners of war and civilians have different legal statuses. But civilians face an additional problem: there is no equivalent exchange mechanism for them to the one that exists for prisoners of war.
Russia detains Ukrainian civilians in occupied territories. Some of them are later transferred to Russia. Families often do not know where the person is being held.
According to the UN, more than 16,000 Ukrainian civilians remain unlawfully deprived of their liberty by Russia.
This is an estimate, not a complete list. The UN does not have full access to all places of detention, making it difficult to determine the true scale of the problem.
In some cases, Russia does not acknowledge the detention at all. For a family, this means living in constant uncertainty: the person may have been transferred, taken to another location, held in a pre-trial detention centre, or remain somewhere unknown.
That is why the issue of civilians cannot be resolved through exchanges alone.
What About Those Who Are Missing?
Here the numbers are even higher.
According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs, as of August 2026, more than 114,000 Ukrainians — both military personnel and civilians — are officially considered missing under special circumstances.
This figure needs to be understood correctly. It is not 114,000 civilians, and it is not 114,000 prisoners.
A person may be entered into the register of persons missing under special circumstances when Ukraine does not have sufficient information about their fate. It may later turn out that the person is in captivity. In another case, the fact of their death may be established.
For many families, therefore, the search for a missing person begins long before there is an answer to the most important question: where are they?
How Ukraine Is Trying to Bring People Home
Over the past several years, Ukraine has established a separate system for searching for and returning people.
The Coordination Headquarters works not only on exchanges. It collects information about prisoners and missing persons, verifies the data and uses testimonies from people who have already returned from captivity.
This is a very important part of the work. A person who has returned home can describe whom they saw in captivity, where those people were being held and when they last saw them. Such information can help find those who remain in captivity.
Law enforcement agencies and the system for searching for missing persons work separately as well. Testimonies from relatives, information from military units, intelligence data, DNA analysis and other identification methods are used.
For military personnel, negotiations and exchanges remain the main mechanism for return.
For civilians, the situation is more complicated. Ukraine uses diplomatic negotiations, international mediators and humanitarian mechanisms. The UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross may play an important role here.
But there is a problem that cannot be resolved through Ukrainian efforts alone: Russia does not give international organizations full access to the places where Ukrainians are being held.
Without such access, it is very difficult to verify where a person is, what condition they are in, and whether they are receiving medical care.
What Remains After Return
Coming home is not the end of the story.
People who have survived torture often return with serious physical and psychological trauma. They need medical treatment, rehabilitation, psychological support and the support of their families.
For those who have not returned, there is also the question of accountability.
Testimonies from former prisoners, medical records, photographs, videos and other evidence can be used to identify those responsible. This concerns not only those who directly tortured or killed people, but also those who organized, allowed or concealed these crimes.
Instead of a Conclusion
As of August 2026, we know of thousands of Ukrainians who remain in Russian captivity. We know about systematic torture. We know about UN-confirmed executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war. We know about thousands of civilians unlawfully detained by Russia, and about more than 114,000 people who remain missing.
But behind all these figures are people.
A person who was taken from their home. A serviceman who surrendered and had the right to remain alive. A mother who has been waiting for news of her son for years. A child who does not know where their father is.
That is why the issue of prisoners is not only about exchanges and statistics. It is about a person's right to life, freedom, dignity and to return home.
And as long as even one family does not know what happened to their loved one, this work cannot be considered finished.