On November 19, during his visit to Washington, Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrii Sybiha, participated in a hearing held by the U.S. Helsinki Commission dedicated to 1,000 days of Ukrainian resistance against Russia’s full-scale aggression.

In his speech, Andrii Sybiha emphasized Russia’s systematic violations of the Geneva Conventions as well as the norms and customs of war. According to the minister, the number of executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war by the Russian army has significantly increased this year.

“We are currently investigating the murder of 124 prisoners of war. According to the UN data, 95% of Ukrainian prisoners of war suffered various forms fo torture in Russian captivity. Many of them return with severe physical and mental damage,” he stressed.

The Foreign Minister reminded the audience that thousands of Ukrainian prisoners of war, civilian hostages, and political prisoners remain in Russian captivity. He also noted that millions of Ukrainians under Russian occupation face repression, human rights violations, and other forms of abuse.

In this context, Andrii Sybiha called on allies to make joint efforts to pressure Russia into ensuring humane treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war and granting international observers and medical personnel proper access to them.

“Most importantly, we must work to free all of our people and return all of our kidnapped children. In this sense, I underscore the importance of the recent Montreal Pledge and urge everyone to join these humanitarian efforts,” the minister noted.