Only prisoners of war of the 36th brigade have been publicly condemned

Servicemen of the 36th Marine Brigade returning from the combat zone, 2018. Photo: NikVesti

The Russian occupiers are organizing public trials of prisoners of war from the Mykolaiv 36th Separate Brigade of Marines named after Rear Admiral Mykhailo Bilinskyi.

Dmytro Lubinets, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, said this during a press conference in Mykolaiv, NikVesti reports.

As you know, out of the total number of prisoners, the largest number are representatives of the Mykolaiv Oblast, specifically, the Mykolaiv 36th Separate Brigade.

«After the occupation of Mariupol, the Russians started holding public trials against representatives of the National Guard. Now we see the same tactics in relation to prisoners of war representatives of the 36th,» he said.

Dmytro Lubinets noted that prisoners of war were gathered in one correctional colony, where most of them are subjected to torture.

«They gathered them all in one correctional colony, according to my information, the conditions of stay there are extremely bad, many of them are subject to torture. As for the representatives of the 36th brigade, in recent months we have seen that they are only publicly condemned, given very long prison terms and distributed, if we can say so, throughout the territory of Russia,» said the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

Dmytro Lubinets, photo: NikVesti

In addition, he added that they are constantly in communication regarding this category of convicts.

«We are in communication regarding this category of convicts, we constantly attract new approaches, new partners, how to stop it. We have direct communication. I have not yet received a positive reaction to our proposals,» Dmytro Lubinets added.

Mykolaiv marines of the 36th brigade

From the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the 36th separate marine brigade named after Rear Admiral Mykhailo Bilinskyi defended Mariupol.

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From March to May 2022, almost two thousand of its fighters were captured by Russia. Since then, only 287 fighters of this brigade have returned from captivity. The rest are held in places of detention in Taganrog, Valuiky, Kursk, Pakino, Mordovia, as well as in the occupied territories of Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

The human rights organization «Media Initiative for Human Rights» reported that almost 1,300 servicemen from the Mykolaiv 36th Separate Marine Brigade named after Rear Admiral Mykhailo Bilinsky are being held captive by the Russian Federation.

In Mykolaiv, townspeople and relatives of servicemen traditionally go to memorial events every Sunday in support of missing prisoners.

Among them are a large number of relatives, wives and children of servicemen of the 36th Brigade.

We will also remind that during the first exchange of prisoners from Russian prisons in 2024 , two soldiers of the 36th separate marine brigade were released. A combat medic of the Mykolaiv marines and a soldier of the tank battalion of the brigade, who participated in the defense of the Illich plant, returned home.