Ukrainian prisoners moved from Makiivka penal colony to Russia
All inmates of penal colony No. 32 in occupied Makiivka, Donetsk region, are being transferred to prisons in Russia, starting with Ukrainian citizens. At least six were already moved in August, with 24 more civilians being prepared for transfer.
Regional outlet "Novyny Donbasu" reports that all convicts serving sentences at penal colony No. 32 in the temporarily occupied city of Makiivka, Donetsk region, are being relocated to prisons inside Russia, with Ukrainian citizens transferred first.
The first six people — one civilian and five Ukrainian servicemen sentenced by the occupiers on serious charges such as extremism, terrorism and espionage to terms of 10 to 17 years — were already moved in August. Another 24 civilians, similarly convicted on long sentences under the same articles, are now being prepared for transfer. In total, according to the outlet, more than 30 Ukrainian prisoners are being moved to Russia, many of whom have been held by the occupiers since as far back as 2017-2019. Some of those being transferred reportedly require constant medical supervision.
Some of the convicts could have been released within a year or two, but transfer to Russia may drag out the release process considerably. What frightens both the prisoners and their relatives most is uncertainty, since inmates are not told where they are being sent. Of the six already transferred, only one has managed to send word, reporting he is being held in a pretrial detention center in Krasnoyarsk, which is not yet his final destination. Nothing is known about the whereabouts of the rest.
Officially, the transfers are attributed to an inability to provide adequate detention conditions, including water supply and coal for heating. However, the outlet suggests another, economic motive may be at play: the number of penal colonies inside Russia is shrinking because many convicts are sent to the front and never return, leaving prison staff without work. The outlet speculates the transfers from occupied territory may be intended to save some Russian colonies from closure.
After a prisoner exchange on August 14, 2025, more than 35 Ukrainian citizens, including five servicemen, reportedly remained at the Makiivka colony. Relatives fear that those transferred could be placed in zones with an even stricter-than-usual detention regime. The International Committee of the Red Cross has said it has had no free access to Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russia and occupied territories for two years. As of February 2025, Russia reportedly held more than 180 colonies containing Ukrainians, but Red Cross representatives can access only some of them, and Russia reportedly hides severely ill or exhausted prisoners from the organization.
