Piotr Yatsenko from the Main Office for Treatment of Prisoners of War of the Ukrainian Army says that about 50% of all families of prisoners of war contact Russian agents.
“They are in a very vulnerable position, and some of them are ready for anything,” says Petro, “but we are trying to teach them that this will not help (their loved ones in captivity).”
Petro says that such an act as setting fire to a military vehicle is not considered a significant material loss for the Armed Forces of Ukraine:
“But this can destabilize the unity of Ukrainian society, so this is the main problem.
And, of course, if someone shares the location of, for example, anti-aircraft defenses, this is also a big problem for us,” he admits.
The authorities do not publish the numbers of Ukrainian prisoners of war, but it is believed that there are more than 8,000 of them.
A source in the Ukrainian intelligence service told the BBC that there are few cases when relatives agree to work with Russia.
The Russian government told the BBC in a statement that allegations of using prisoners’ families as leverage were “baseless” and Russia treated “Ukrainian combatants humanely and in full compliance with the Geneva Convention”.
The statement further accuses Ukraine of using the same methods:
“Ukrainian operators are actively trying to force Russian residents to commit sabotage and arson on Russian territory, targeting critical infrastructure and civilian facilities.”
