Photos of liberated Ukrainian prisoners of war show emaciated bodies in ‘horrific’ conditions

(CNN) — Roman Gorelik is now little more than a skeleton. His ribs and collarbones protrude, his stomach is sunken, the joints of his shoulders and hips are clearly visible under his pale skin.

Gorilek’s extreme emaciation appears to be the result of two years spent in Russian captivity. The former guard at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant checkpoint in northern Ukraine was detained by Russian forces in March 2022, shortly after Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Roman Gorelik was held captive in Russia for more than two years. Credit: Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War

He was finally released on Friday, one of 75 Ukrainians freed in exchange for 75 Russian prisoners of war.

Ukraine says Russia is committing “starvation atrocities”. Credit: Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War

Ukrainian authorities released several photos of Gorelik on Wednesday to show the toll Russian captivity has taken on him.

“The condition of Roman and other Ukrainian prisoners of war is horrifying and evokes associations with the darkest pages of human history – the Nazi concentration camps,” the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, an agency of the Ukrainian government, said in a statement posted on Telegram along with the photos.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said prisoners returned to Ukraine in “terrible” conditions. “The torture by starvation is terrible, the beatings and violence are sophisticated,” he said in a statement published on X, accusing Russia of ignoring international human rights agreements.

“There is no Geneva Convention anymore…Russia is once again thinking it can escape accountability for war crimes on a massive scale,” he said.

CNN has sought comment from the Russian Defense Ministry.

Under the Geneva Convention, the body of international law governing armed conflict, prisoners of war must be treated with humanity and respect, and provided with basic daily rations of food that are “sufficient in quantity, quality and variety to keep prisoners of war in good health and prevent the development of weight loss or nutritional deficiencies.”

The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said Gorelik was among 169 guards who were captured by attacking Russian forces and taken to Russia via Belarus. It said 89 of these people are prisoners and Moscow uses them as a replacement for Russian soldiers captured in the war.