The rights of prisoners of war: international standards and Ukrainian realities during Russia’s war against Ukraine in the 21st century

The article analyzes the complex architecture of the legal status and protection regime of prisoners of war in the context of the current Russian-Ukrainian war, which is seen as a challenge to the global system of international humanitarian law. It examines the genesis of humanitarian standards laid down in the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Particular attention is paid to the doctrinal interpretation of Article 13 of the Third Geneva Convention, where humane treatment is interpreted not only as the absence of violence, but also as the active duty of the state to prevent “unlawful inaction” and protect prisoners from “public curiosity” in the digital space. It is noted that combatant status and the presumption of the right to prisoner of war status are fundamental procedural guarantees that should apply automatically from the moment a person falls into the hands of the enemy. It describes the mechanism of “combatant immunity,” which exempts a military servicemember from liability for lawful participation in military operations, and emphasizes the inviolability of a person’s protective rights even if they are suspected of committing war crimes. It has been established that, in the context of the current aggression, there is a dangerous degradation of the institution of military captivity, which the aggressor state is deliberately transforming from a preventive tool into a means of terror, political blackmail, and psychological pressure. Russia’s refusal to grant international observers access to places of internment is classified as the creation of “legal vacuum zones” where human life is outside the scope of conventional guarantees. Ukraine’s commitment to international standards is emphasized, as expressed in the creation of a transparent institutional framework for the detention of enemy prisoners and the protection of their basic rights. It is concluded that the humane treatment of prisoners of war has evolved into a legal imperative, the violation of which must entail inevitable international criminal responsibility. It has been proven that the main challenge of our time is not a lack of regulatory framework, but the absence of effective operational mechanisms to compel the aggressor to fulfill its humanitarian obligations.