Russia’s handling of its soldiers continues to raise serious questions. This time, the focus is on its treatment of former prisoners of war.
The country’s Ministry of Defense has admitted to sending soldiers captured in Ukraine and later released back to the battlefield, according to Hotnews.
This move goes against the Geneva Convention, which clearly forbids using former POWs in combat.
Two Russian soldiers, Vasili Grigoriev and Dmitri Davydov, were captured by Ukrainian forces in June 2023. After eight months in captivity, they were released and returned to Russia.
Instead of being allowed to leave military service, the two were sent back to the front lines. They later fled their positions and turned themselves in to a military prosecutor’s office.
Fought Against Going Back to War
The situation took an even darker turn after that. Both men were placed in a unit near Moscow while Russian authorities investigated their case.
Just three days after contacting the military prosecutor, Davydov died suddenly of what officials called cardiac arrest.
Grigoriev, meanwhile, fought against the Ministry of Defense’s decision to send him back to war. His lawyer, Maksim Grebenyuk, said the ministry refused to release him from service.
The Ministry defended its actions by pointing to Russian laws and decrees tied to the ongoing mobilization.
In an official response shared by Grigoriev’s lawyer, the Ministry stated that during wartime, soldiers must fulfill their military obligations as laid out in federal law.
They also argued that the Geneva Convention does not apply in this situation.
The Geneva Convention states that former POWs cannot be sent back into combat. Russia argued that certain protections under the Convention, such as the right to be repatriated, do not apply while fighting is still ongoing.
Additionally, a 2022 decree from President Vladimir Putin does not list release from captivity as a reason for military discharge.
