KYIV, Ukraine — Russia is systematically exploiting the emotional vulnerability of Ukrainian families holding prisoners of war, contacting relatives via social media to demand cooperation in exchange for assurances about their captives’ wellbeing.
Polina, a middle-aged woman from eastern Ukraine who requested only her first name be used to protect her father’s safety, said her life was upended when Russian troops seized her hometown in 2022. Her father, now 71 and blind in one eye, was taken into custody. For four months, Russian authorities pressured her to gather intelligence on Ukrainian military attacks.
“They sent me a video of him smiling and told me, ‘Look, he’s OK. He’s smiling. And you haven’t done anything for us yet. It’s time to do something,’ ” Polina recounted.
After she refused, the contacts ceased, but her father remains imprisoned nearly four years later. Russian officials have accused him of spying for Ukraine.
According to Petro Yatsenko, the Ukrainian government spokesman for the agency handling prisoner affairs, such tactics are part of a coordinated campaign by Russia’s military intelligence (GRU) and domestic security service (FSB). Yatsenko noted that while thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians are believed to be held by Russia, official channels provide little information, pushing desperate families toward direct contact with their captors.
“Russia never shares any official information about people who are imprisoned,” Yatsenko said. “They look up the prisoner’s social media profile and begin contacting family members.”
The demands placed on relatives range from surveillance tasks, such as checking security at strategic locations in occupied areas, to participating in pro-Russian demonstrations against Ukraine’s government. Human rights groups and media reports, including coverage from the Kyiv Independent, have documented the harsh conditions endured by those in Russian captivity.
Another weapon in their arsenal. They don’t just want land; they want to break the spirit of the Ukrainian people.
Does Ukraine have any hotline or support for these families when they are approached? The article says official channels provide little info.
My heart breaks for Polina and every other family in this situation. It’s cruel to hold children hostage emotionally.
How do families even verify if the person in the video is actually their relative? These tactics seem designed to induce paranoia.
This is absolutely chilling. The psychological manipulation of desperate families is a war crime in itself.