Statement by First Deputy Permanent Representative Dmitry Polyanskiy at a UNSC “Arria Formula” meeting on Ukrainian Prisoners of War and Civilian Detainees
Madam Chairperson,
When we learned about the plans to hold this event, we were hoping that this serious humanitarian problem will be addressed by the organizers in the comprehensive fashion. And of course, we hoped that the IHL violations with regard to Russian POWs in Ukraine will in no case be overlooked.
All the more so because even the OHCHR can no longer ignore the brutality of the Kiev regime. Thus, according to the latest report of the Office, published on December 3, 25 Russian prisoners of war held captive in Ukrainian detention facilities were interviewed between September 1 and November 30. All but one reported that in 2024 they were subjected to torture or inhumane treatment at one or more stages of captivity. Fourteen of them were subjected to sexual violence. This is despite the fact that the Russian servicemen were interviewed while in the custody of the enemy, which means that they could not testify freely. And nonetheless, even at the risk of their lives, they did not play along with their torturers. And, of course, none of today's briefers nor the states that organized today’s Arria formula event have mentioned that Russian servicemen captured by Kiev are being brutally tortured and abused. And evidence abounds: neo-Nazis are openly posting video evidence of their crimes on the Internet, showing how prisoners being castrated and kneecapped, and how those wounded being finished off with a shot to the head. They mock at the bodies of the dead, poke out their eyes, and record videos to send them to the relatives of those killed. Everyone can see this, except for our Western colleagues, who are selectively deaf and blind.
The focus of today's event is predictably being placed on alleged violations against Ukrainian POWs. They, as we know, are interrogated once they return to Ukraine, and, of course, they keep in mind the need to follow the instructions of their secret services regarding what answers they are supposed to give.
This is despite the fact that the rights of Ukrainian POWs are being upheld, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has access to them, as per the ICRC mandate. This issue (as well as other issues related to this category of individuals) is something that enjoys effective cooperation between the ICRC and the Russian Ministry of Defense. Incidentally, if our Western colleagues were really trying to be the least bit objective, they would have mentioned that as of early December 2024, Ukraine had refused to take back 630 Ukrainian POWs, we made public the list of those people. These people – many of them were sent to the frontline following the forced mobilization – can tell the truth about how they were treated in Russia, but the Kiev regime doesn’t care about them. Instead, only dyed-in-the-wool neo-Nazis and neo-fascists are exchanged, as they will tell the media precisely what the expired clown Zelensky and his clique want them to tell.
As regards the situation with civilians, the organizers of today’s Arria event hypocritically ignored the fate of those who are persecuted in Kiev for their political views, and there are thousands – if not tens of thousands – of such individuals. Ukrainians themselves are openly calling their own country a “Zelensky concentration camp”. To get a better grasp of it, let us recall what happened to Ukrainian human rights activist Elena Berezhnaya, who is known for her consistent anti-fascist stance and uncompromising fight for human rights. As you remember, she participated remotely in the UN Security Council meetings and therefore Council members should have been carefully monitoring her fate, since she is someone who may be subjected to pressure in her home country for voicing her views. She was arrested on March 16, 2022. Since then, she has been held in a secret detention center of the Security Service of Ukraine, and there has not been any contact with her.
According to the information available, during all this time, this elderly 70-year-old woman have been tortured, as they wanted to force her to change her position. But she did not give in. As a result, on December 10, 2024 – on Human Rights Day – the Ukrainian court sentenced Elena Berezhnaya to 14 years in prison with confiscation of property. Moreover, what became the key element of the sentence is the letter she sent to the UN General Assembly in 2022, which was read out from the rostrum by the Russian Permanent Representative. We immediately informed our colleagues about that at a UN Security Council meeting. Well, has any of our Western colleagues mentioned that today? Are they going to mention it? Perhaps, colleagues, this is the most persuasive evidence ever of your hypocrisy and indifference to the fate of the Ukrainians we can.
It is clear that today's informal Council’s meeting was originally conceived as an anti-Russian propaganda event, and it would be naïve to expect to hear even a hint of truth today from the organizers and the briefers they selected. Especially given the fact that among the briefers there are dyed-in-the-wool neo-Nazis, in particular Valery Gorishny, who served in the Azov battalion, which is recognized as a terrorist organization in Russia and, by the way, until recently, it was also recognized as such in the USA.
According to social media, Mr. Gorishny has a tattoo in the form of the emblem of the SS division “Death's Head” (Totenkopf), and he is a big fan of this SS tank division. For those of you who are interested, we will leave a few color photos attesting to this fact. Let me remind you, colleagues, that the 14th company of this SS division, back in May 1940, massacred British prisoners of war at Le Paradis village in France. 97 people were executed then. This is a historical fact, which our British colleagues are definitely aware of. And yet, they are staying shamefully silent about it. Back in May 2022, I myself spoke about that in a live broadcast on the British TV channel Sky News, but the host hastily interrupted me, fearing that this information would be disseminated throughout the UK. I hope that what will be widely disseminated in the UK after today’s event is the information that UK diplomats – the organizers of today's event – have invited to the UN a briefer who is glorifying the Nazi criminals who murdered their fellow countrymen. That is all you need to know about the high moral principles of contemporary Western diplomacy.
Moreover, one of the main briefers is an expert from the so-called Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine. As we have already repeatedly stated, the Russian Federation does not recognize this politicized and utterly untrustworthy mechanism, which is receiving false information from Kiev and spreading it using the UN logo. We decisively refute all accusations and conclusions contained in the Commission's reports, since they are based on lies and a total distortion of facts.
Colleagues, make no mistake – today's anti-Russian propaganda show is in no way aimed at establishing the truth about how prisoners of war are being treated. In this respect, today’s event is in no way different from other anti-Russian provocations concocted with the help of our British colleagues. In particular, the abhorrent show in Bucha – for two years now we’ve been asking the UN Secretariat to provide a list of victims; however, we’ve received no assistance so far.
Thank you.
