The European Union has imposed sanctions on 15 individuals and one entity implicated in the torture and killing of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians.

This was reported by the Council of the European Union.

The restrictions apply to crimes committed both in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and in Russia. The sanctions list includes officials, prison system employees, and members of law enforcement agencies deemed responsible for torture, inhuman treatment, and humiliation of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian hostages.

Some of the individuals were added to the list under the EU’s Global Sanctions Regime for human rights violations, while seven others were added under a separate sanctions regime concerning human rights violations in Russia.

Among those sanctioned is Dmytro Neyelov, first deputy warden of the Olenivka prison. The Council of the EU stated that he was involved in the torture, beating, and humiliation of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians. He is also held responsible for the deaths of Ukrainian prisoners during the terrorist attack in Olenivka on the night of July 28–29, 2022, due to his deliberate delay of the evacuation of the wounded.

The list also includes other officials and staff members of the Olenivka penal colony involved in the abuse of Ukrainian prisoners of war.

Oleksiy Khavetskyi, head of security at Penal Colony No. 7 in Pakino, has also been sanctioned. According to the Council of the European Union, under his supervision, Ukrainian prisoners of war were systematically tortured using electric shocks, starvation, sexual violence, and other forms of cruel treatment.

Sanctions were also imposed on FSB officer Yan Zanevsky, who is believed to be involved in the unlawful detention and torture of civilians in the temporarily occupied territories of the Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Pretrial Detention Center No. 2 in Taganrog was added separately to the sanctions list. It was there that Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians—including journalists and women—were held and subjected to systematic torture. Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchina died in this detention center after a year of imprisonment; her body showed numerous signs of torture.

Also subject to sanctions are Oleksandr Gnutov, the warden of Penitentiary Colony No. 10 in the village of Udarnoye; his five deputies; and Galina Mokshanova, the head of the medical unit. According to the Council of the EU, they are responsible for the systematic abuse of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians. Former detainees reported beatings, electric shock torture, sexual violence, forced stress positions, mock executions, and denial of medical care.

The sanctions include an asset freeze, a ban on EU citizens and companies from providing funds or economic resources to those targeted, as well as a ban on entry into and transit through the territory of the European Union.

The EU Council emphasized that it strongly condemns the torture, ill-treatment, and killings of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian hostages, and called for independent international missions—in particular the International Committee of the Red Cross—to be granted unimpeded access to all locations where Ukrainians are being held.