What fate awaits the soldiers arrested in the Ukrainian conflict? Russians or Ukrainians, these combatants are protected by one of the Geneva Conventions on prisoners of war, remind human rights defenders and specialists.

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However, Russia has indicated that it considers the fighters of the Azov regiment, an ultra-nationalist Ukrainian unit that the Kremlin describes as "neo-Nazi", as "terrorists" and that it intends to try them as criminals and not as prisoners of war. war.

As for Ukraine, it has been singled out by several NGOs for violating the Geneva Convention, for having broadcast videos of Russian fighters engaging in repentance.

Overview of the questions surrounding the problem of prisoners of war:

How many are they?

As in any conflict, data from the field is often fragmented and difficult to verify independently. The number of prisoners of war is no exception.

No figures have been provided at this stage.

On Mariupol, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported “3,826 prisoners”, including “2,439 Ukrainians taken prisoner during the surrender of Azovstal” and “1,387 Marines” taken prisoner previously.

The ambassador to Moscow of the separatist republic of Lugansk, Rodion Miroshnik gave Thursday according to the Tass agency the figure of 8,000 Ukrainian prisoners for the two separatist territories, “and every day hundreds are added to it”.

On the Ukrainian side, no figure for Russian prisoners has been given despite requests from AFP.

On Azovstal, the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) said it had registered “hundreds of Ukrainian prisoners of war”.

What status?

Regular army soldiers who fall "into the power of the enemy" are considered "prisoners of war" whose status is defined by the Third Geneva Convention of 1949, which also applies in cases where war has not been officially declared.

This status concerns “members of the armed forces or militiamen who are part of these armed forces”, specifies William Schabas, professor of international law at Middlesex University in London.

These prisoners, he continues, have rights and must in particular be protected against any act of violence or intimidation, against insults and public curiosity.

However, according to NGOs, some of these rights have been violated since the beginning of the conflict. In March, Human Rights Watch called on Ukraine to stop portraying repentant Russian POWs in the media.

Kyiv's initiative had also earned him a call to order from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

HRW also called on Ukrainian authorities to investigate potential "war crimes" against Russian prisoners after footage emerged that appeared to show Ukrainian soldiers shooting them in the legs.

More recently, Amnesty International was moved by the fate reserved for "Ukrainian prisoners of war in Azovstal", presented in the Russian media "in a dehumanizing way" as "neo-Nazis".

In this context, the registration process by the ICRC plays a key role, underlines Julia Grignon, researcher at the Institute for Strategic Research at the Military School (Irsem). “It is a guarantee, it means that they will not disappear because we can then demand accountability”.

What about exchanges?

Having become a common practice, the exchange of prisoners is not governed by international law and takes the form of an over-the-counter agreement.

Since the beginning of the invasion, several exchanges of soldiers and civilians have already taken place between Ukrainians and Russians, without being systematically confirmed by the two parties.

The request, made by kyiv, to exchange a close friend of Vladimir Putin, the oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, for Ukrainians captured by Russia is still pending. The Russian negotiator, Leonid Sloutski, made it known recently that Moscow would study this possibility.

“There can be exchanges that are proportionate to the importance that we are going to give to certain people. Gilad Shalit, an Israeli prisoner, was so emblematic that the Israelis freed 1,027 Palestinians to secure his release,” recalls Ms. Grignon.

Can they be judged?

“Prisoners of war cannot be judged for the simple fact of having taken part in combat”, underlines the French specialist. “On the other hand, soldiers who allegedly committed crimes during the clashes can be prosecuted.”

In Ukraine, the first Russian soldier tried for war crimes since the start of the offensive was sentenced to life imprisonment Monday in kyiv for the murder of a civilian.

On the Russian side, the authorities hinted that they would try the Azov fighters as “Nazi criminals”.

"It would not be in accordance with humanitarian law, we cannot label them Nazis or terrorists, they must be prosecuted for the acts they are suspected of having committed", according to Ms. Grignon.

“It is clear to everyone that the Azov fighters are members of the Ukrainian armed forces, and they must therefore be considered as prisoners of war”, agrees Mr. Schabas.

As for the members of the private Russian company Wagner, with whom Moscow denies any link, they can be considered prisoners of war if they are captured while being incorporated into the Russian forces. Otherwise, they are considered as civilians taking part in the hostilities and cannot benefit from this status, underline the specialists.