How Russia is trying to turn desperate Ukrainians into traitors

Petro Yatsenko, from the Headquarters of the Ukrainian Army for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, says that about 50% of all families of prisoners of war are contacted by Russian agents.

“They are in a very vulnerable position and some of them are willing to do anything,” says Petro, “but we are trying to educate them that this will not help (their loved ones in captivity).”

Petro says that an act such as setting fire to a military vehicle is not considered a significant material loss for the Ukrainian Armed Forces:

“But it can destabilize the unity of Ukrainian society, so that’s the main problem.

And of course, if someone shares where they are, e.g. anti-aircraft defense systems, that’s a big problem for us too”, he admits.

Authorities do not release the number of Ukrainians captured as prisoners of war, but the number is believed to be more than 8,000.

A Ukrainian intelligence source told the BBC that the number of cases in which relatives agree to work with Russia is small.

The Russian government told the BBC in a statement that accusations of using prisoners’ families as leverage were “baseless” and that Russia treats “Ukrainian fighters humanely and fully in accordance with the Geneva Convention”.

The statement further accuses Ukraine of using the same methods:

“Ukrainian handlers are actively trying to coerce Russian residents to commit sabotage and arson inside Russian territory, targeting critical infrastructure and civilian facilities.”