Takeaways from the AP investigation into thousands of Ukrainian civilians held by Russia in prisons

Olena Yahupova sits for a portrait in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Thursday,... — Olena Yahupova sits for a portrait in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Thursday, May 18, 2023. Yahupova, a city administrator who was forced to dig trenches for the Russian forces in Zaporizhzhia, says, “If we don’t talk about it and keep silent, then tomorrow anyone can be there— my neighbor, acquaintance, child.” Credit: AP/Evgeniy Maloletka

By The Associated PressUpdated July 13, 2023

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine — Thousands of Ukrainian civilians are detained in a network of formal and informal prisons across Russia and the territories it occupies, where they endure torture, psychological abuse and even slave labor. And Russia plans to build dozens more prisons, according to a government document obtained by The Associated Press.

The AP spoke with dozens of people, including 20 former detainees, along with ex-prisoners of war, the families of more than a dozen civilians in detention, two Ukrainian intelligence officials and a government negotiator. Their accounts, as well as satellite imagery, social media, government documents and copies of letters delivered by the Red Cross, confirm a widescale Russian system of detention and abuse of civilians that goes directly against the Geneva Conventions.

Here are findings from the AP investigation:

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