Human rights violations against Ukrainian prisoners of war: Council lists 15 individuals and one entity
The Council decided today to impose restrictive measures on 15 individuals and one entity responsible for serious human rights violations against Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees both in the temporarily occupied regions of Ukraine and in Russia.
The EU is imposing restrictive measures under the European Union's Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime against eight Russian individuals and one entity responsible for torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) and civilian detainees in the occupied Ukrainian territories.
Among those listed is Dmitry Neelov, first deputy head of the Olenivka prison in Donetsk region, involved in the torture, beating and humiliation of Ukrainian POWs and civilians. He is directly responsible for the mass killing of Ukrainian prisoners in Olenivka on 28-29 July 2022 following a Russian attack, by deliberately delaying the evacuation of the wounded. The decision also includes several high-level officers and staff who carried out the degrading treatment against Ukrainian prisoners in the Olenivka prison.
Another targeted individual is Alexei Khavetsky, head of security at Penal colony no. 7 in Pakino, Russia, where he orchestrated the systematic mistreatment of Ukrainian POWs. Under his supervision, prisoners were subjected to electric shocks, intentional starvation and acts of sexual violence and extreme humiliation for the entertainment of the colony staff.
The Council also sanctions Yan Zanevsky, an FSB officer involved in illegal detention and torture – such as beatings, suffocation and sexual abuse – of civilians in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, including the Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions.
The entity targeted today under this framework is the Pre-trial detention center-2 Taganrog (SIZO 2), used to hold Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians, including journalists and women, subjected to systemic torture that lead to death, as was the case of journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, who died in this facility after a year of detention and showed numerous signs of torture.
Furthermore, the Council is listing today seven more individuals under another sanctions regime targeting human rights violations and abuses in Russia. The Council is notably targeting the head of the Penal Colony No 10 in the village of Udarny, Alexander Gnutov, his five deputy heads, and the head of the medical unit of the same penal colony, Galina Mokshanova. They all bear responsibility for the abuse of prisoners committed by staff in Penal Colony 10, in particular Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war.
Hundreds of Ukrainian prisoners of war as well as Ukrainian civilians, captured from the occupied Ukrainian territories, have been held in the Penal Colony No 10. Former detainees report inhumane and degrading treatment and torture, including electric shocks, beating, stress positions causing trophic ulcers, sexual violence, mock executions, and the denial of medical care. Civilians are subjected to the same treatment as the PoWs and are held without trial and status.
Individuals and entities listed under both sanctions’ regimes are subject to an asset freeze. EU citizens and companies are forbidden from making funds available to them. Individuals are also subject to a travel ban, which prevents them from entering or transiting through EU territories.
The European Union condemns in the strongest terms the torture, ill-treatment and killing of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees, calls for unhindered access by independent monitors, including the International Committee of the Red Cross to all detainees, and reiterates the need to ensure accountability for serious violations of international humanitarian law
The relevant legal acts have been published in the Official Journal of the EU.
Background
On 7 December 2020, the Council established a Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, which applies to acts such as genocide, crimes against humanity and other serious human rights violations or abuses (e.g. torture, slavery, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests or detentions). The EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime underscores the EU’s commitment to enhance its role in addressing serious human rights violations and abuses worldwide.
In addition, on 27 May 2024 the EU also adopted a sanctions regime in view of the situation in Russia. This sanctions framework targets those responsible for serious human rights violations or abuses, for repression of civil society and democratic opposition, and for undermining democracy and the rule of law in Russia.
In its conclusions of 23 March 2023, the European Council reiterated that international humanitarian law, including the rules governing the treatment of prisoners of war, must be fully respected and condemned violations committed in the context of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. It further emphasised the importance of ensuring accountability for violations of international law.
On 16 March 2026, the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva delivered a statement in the framework of 61st Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. In this statement, it condemned in the strongest possible terms Russia’s continuing violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in Ukraine, such as summary executions of prisoners of war and civilian detainees, arbitrary detention, systematic and widespread use of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, including rape and other conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence.
EU statement at the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council (16 March 2026)
Sanctions against human rights violations (background information)
Human rights abuses in Russia: EU sanctions (background information)