At a pretrial detention facility in Ukraine, the second floor is reserved for Russian prisoners of wars. DW is not naming the exact location of the building for security reasons.
The Russians are held separately from the other prisoners. We’re told it is “for their own protection.”
Following a request by journalists to the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine, DW became the first media outlet to speak with Russian prisoners as well film in the prison.
Permission was granted on the condition that DW would not report the exact whereabouts of the prisoners or show their faces.
We were also only allowed to talk to prisoners who were not charged with war crimes and who faced no other criminal charges: Interviewing such individuals would require additional authorization from the…
