Inside Russia's Foreign Mercenary Pipeline — The Ukrainian POW Camp Holding Putin's Recruits

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-09

[00:00:03]This entire jail is only for prisoners of war.

[00:00:09]I don't even know what to say right now.

[00:00:11]But it's not really safe.

[00:00:32]War is often imagined in moments, explosions, front lines, chaos.

[00:00:38]But much of war is waiting, waiting behind fences for decisions made from far away, waiting for an end that may or may not come.

[00:00:50]There are rules meant to govern even this. They're set out in the Geneva Conventions, a framework designed to preserve a baseline of humanity in the middle of conflict.

[00:01:01]Since 2022, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine escalated the war dramatically, thousands of soldiers have been captured on both sides.

[00:01:11]Each one represents a life paused, removed from the battlefield, but not from the war itself.

[00:01:22]>> [music] >> We are in Lviv, and we are on our way to a prison [music] at an undisclosed location. Obviously, like many of the places that we have been taking you guys, we can't show exactly where we are or anything that identifies [music] the location, because obviously this is an active [music] war zone, and in order to maintain the integrity of security measures and ensuring that Ukraine's enemy, aka [music] Russia, does not learn of these locations, we have to be careful.

[00:01:59]Under international law, prisoners of war are not considered criminals. They are detained not as punishment, but to prevent them from returning to combat.

[00:02:10]The Geneva Conventions outline what that detention should look like.

[00:02:18]Adequate food, shelter, medical care, protection from violence, and even public exposure. In theory, captivity is meant to exist within limits.

[00:02:29]>> new belongings. So, again, here you get your Red Cross hygiene kits.

[00:02:37]>> [music] >> Put up their personal belongings, and then in here they come and have a full shower.

[00:02:44]So, this is the working zone here. There are parts of the camp [music] designed to stimulate normalcy. Workshops, jobs, routine. Ukrainian officials say labor and recreation are part of maintaining conditions under [music] the Geneva Convention. But walking through the carpentry area, the atmosphere shifted immediately. No, be careful because here could be Russians as well, like Russian citizens.

[00:03:13]But it's not really safe. The prisoners here had access to chisels, hammers, sharp tools that in another context would seem ordinary.

[00:03:25]Here, they carried a different weight.

[00:03:27]Every movement felt amplified, and every stare lingered longer than usual.

[00:03:33]So, basically, I wanted to interview people in here and kind of find out, [clears throat] you know, some of their stories, but um we were just told that a lot of them are Russian citizens, and it may not be safe, so to just be careful of what we say to these people.

[00:03:51]I was, as usual, the only woman in the room, which, at times, can make this job a little more difficult. No one said anything directly to me, but there was an unmistakable tension in the silence, especially when my cameraman and myself spotted a few individuals who stopped working upon our arrival and playing with their sharp tools in their hands, stared us down until we left. [music] For the men here, the war has shifted from movement to stillness, from uncertainty in the field to a different kind of uncertainty.

[00:04:40]How long will they stay here? Who will be included in the prisoner swap? When or if they will return home.

[00:04:48]Many of the individuals in this particular camp are foreign mercenaries from South America, Africa. Many of them promised significant money for fighting alongside Russia, while others, like Cubans, were handed over by their very own government.

[00:05:08]Is he Russian? Uh he's Russian.

[00:05:16]What?

[00:05:17]>> Uzbek.

[00:05:18]Oh, he's he's Uzbek. He said he's Uzbekistan. Uh Uh he's from Uzbekistan and after he moved to Russia. And he uh recognized himself as a Russian.

[00:05:35]>> Oh, he recognized himself as a Russian.

[00:05:36]And when did he come here?

[00:05:43]From the 1st of November.

[00:05:44]>> 1st of November of 2025. Uh 2025, yeah. Okay, and does he believe that he has any chance to be let out of here?

[00:06:04]I'm waiting for the prisoners swap, so I have some hope.

[00:06:07]>> He's waiting for the what?

[00:06:08]>> Prisoner swap. Prisoner swap, okay, between Russia and Ukraine? Yeah. And why does he believe that he will be one of the people who get swapped?

[00:06:36]So that will be some like the luck. Oh, it's He hopes he's lucky. Yeah. What's his name and how old is he?

[00:06:44]25 years old. 25 years old, he's a year older than me. How does he feel to be here? How does it feel to be captured?

[00:07:04]I I I don't have any I'm not free.

[00:07:10]But like work to help me [clears throat] to feel like to feel busy at least, so that's quite normally for me, yeah.

[00:07:20]>> Okay, I'm going to say thank you in He speaks Russian? I'm going to say thank you in Russian and shake his hand. So we're okay.

[00:07:28]Oh, it says it in English. So [music] you can see here it says prisoners of war receive three hot meals a day and access to drinking water. [music] So this is basically um This is Geneva Convention, right? This is all of [music] the laws from, yeah, the the Geneva Convention.

[00:07:46]>> [music] >> Um which basically makes made the laws and regulations around how to treat prisoners of war.

[00:07:54]>> [music] >> In conflicts throughout history, the treatment of prisoners has often reflected something [music] deeper. Not just military policy, but rather the country's political identity.

[00:08:07][music] It signals in some ways how a country wants to be seen.

[00:08:14]I'm told [music] here Russia does not follow the Geneva Convention, right?

[00:08:19]Yes, they don't.

[00:08:20]>> [music] >> They don't.

[00:08:21]>> even have the separate camps for prisoners of war, so they send the Ukrainian prisoners to their regular jails [music] just like for criminals. I have personally knew a few people who got into captivity and I know that their family, they maybe will get once from here information that somebody saw him there and there and there like zero direct communication and zero >> [music] >> information provided by the Geneva Convention.

[00:08:52]Unfortunately, there [music] is no way that I could get access to a POW camp in Russia. I would likely >> [music] >> end up one myself. This is bedroom number four.

[00:09:05]So, it's bunk beds.

[00:09:06]The conditions are actually very good, I must say.

[00:09:11]As you guys know, cameraman and I have been to probably some of the world's shittiest [music] prisons. This is definitely not one of them.

[00:09:20]As I walked through each [music] area of the prison, which was once used for criminals, I told my [music] cameraman that this was by far the nicest prison we had ever been to.

[00:09:32]Yet, at the same time, the people here [music] seemed to be the most intense of anyone I had seen [music] or met with in a prison.

[00:09:42]Almost everyone seemed like a shell of themselves.

[00:09:46]The stares burned [music] through me, and I couldn't tell what the emotions were, but they were certainly running high.

[00:09:55]Whether they were angry, sad, or simply defeated.

[00:10:01]This is the dining hall. Meals here are regular, structured. In environments like this, routine becomes essential, not just for physical survival, but for maintaining a sense of time and even a sense of self.

[00:10:16]In many ways, routine is what separates [music] detention from something more chaotic. This is other lining up to go in and and get their meal. It basically everything here works in cohorts. So, a group will work for a certain amount of time while another group eats, while another group uh makes the furniture, and then it all rotates. Uh so, everyone is kind of constantly doing something, but it goes by groups, and they cycle through each activity or necessity uh throughout the day. Let's actually go up in with them, and we'll show you guys what it looks like for meal time.

[00:11:14]So, this is what lunchtime looks like at a prisoner of war camp.

[00:11:22]I'm told that a lot of these men lining up behind me [music] were fighting on the front lines uh for the Russian army.

[00:11:30]Uh a lot of these men are not even Russian nationals.

[00:11:35]This group of people is made up of so many uh, different countries from around the world. Uh, Cameroon, uh, Ecuador, Brazil, obviously Colombia. We know they have a large number of foreign mercenaries, but really there is a very diverse group uh, of all ages. Uh, some of these guys are as young as me, 24, 22, uh, and others seem to be a lot older even in in elderly men here. And a lot of them you can tell are also injured.

[00:12:12]What country? Africa. Africa? But which African country?

[00:12:18]You don't want to say?

[00:12:21]Okay.

[00:12:22]You can tell this is a global POW camp here. Everyone is from all over the world.

[00:12:28]Norwood Sawmills sponsors this show, and I want to highlight something.

[00:12:33]Eric Lindros, NHL Hall of Famer, is a Norwood customer. [music] His full story is on their YouTube channel, and it's worth a few minutes of your time.

[00:12:42]There's a feeling of pride by just, you know, you got your stickers and and you're loading up your wood and you're trying to dry it out and you're just that, you know, taking it off the ladder and and [music] and and bringing it over to your pile and and uh, it sounds so basic, but it's it's uh, it gets me going. If you've been thinking about a sawmill for your property, request a quote at the link in the show notes.

[00:13:08]There's a library, books in different languages, access to reading, to activity generally aren't incidental details, because like I said, captivity isn't only physical, it's psychological. And time, of course, behaves differently in places like this.

[00:13:28]What does it say? It looks like a Soviet library, so you Post-Soviet library. [music] Typical post-Soviet library.

[00:13:36]poetry Poetry, fiction, non-fiction, science, literature. This Even the smell is the same, so I can feel that this is just like library. So, like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, like And To Kill a Mockingbird.

[00:13:53]>> like All of the classics. Huckleberry >> Cervantes here, like Is he POW?

[00:14:01]Yes.

[00:14:01]>> Yes.

[00:14:01]>> [music] >> The man working inside didn't appear to speak English. I was speaking English and communicating with him through my translator. So, he's Ukrainian?

[00:14:18]He's Ukrainian, so why is he here?

[00:14:21]The interaction between myself, my translator, the man working there, and all of the guards in the library with us did not feel transparent.

[00:14:31]He's not happy.

[00:14:33]He's looking out at the guards. Doesn't want to answer.

[00:14:41]What is he saying?

[00:14:42]Why are you asking? You came Oh.

[00:14:46]Uh hold on. Hold on. Um I'm Canadian journalist and I just want to know the story, but mhm maybe they should stand outside.

[00:14:56]So, we can talk to him. I'm not sure that >> They won't.

[00:15:00]>> for that, yeah. So, did you ask When you asked him why he got captured, he doesn't want to answer? Yes. But he's Ukrainian. Yes, he's Ukrainian. And he's in a Ukrainian POW camp.

[00:15:11]So, did he defect? Oh, he he's in this camp because he was captured as a Russian.

[00:15:18]He was captured as a Russian.

[00:15:20]>> military servant So, he was serving for the Russian military?

[00:15:23]>> Did he say that? Uh yes.

[00:15:26]But I asked for the reason how he he got to Russian army.

[00:15:32]But he was serving in the Russian army?

[00:15:34]Yeah, because for example, yeah, the main uh purpose of that the main reason is like forced mobilization. If you uh if you got on occupied territories by Russia, and someday they come and say, "Okay, we take you. Now you you join the Russian army, and you actually doesn't have any choice." So they forced him to join the army?

[00:15:55]>> No, the the primal mobilization.

[00:15:57]As we're about to leave, kind of looked him deeply in the eyes, I was like, he started speaking English, and he pretended that he didn't speak English at first, and then told us a little bit about his story, but there's also only so much I can ask because we are literally with government. I know nothing about this man. I couldn't ask him. He likely wouldn't have answered if he committed atrocities, if he himself was tortured.

[00:16:25]In war, identity becomes complicated [music] very quickly.

[00:16:30]Since Russia's full-scale invasion, there have been documented cases of Ukrainians fighting within Russian units. Some from occupied territories, [music] some coerced, some of course aligned with Russia, and others [music] simply trying to survive.

[00:16:48]You were Were you fighting in Russian I'm not fighting, but I was in Russian army.

[00:16:53]You were in the Russian army?

[00:16:55]So you are here just because you was captured from Russian army, like according to the law, let's say.

[00:17:04]I I didn't capture by Ukrainian army. I I surrendered. Oh, you surrendered? Yeah, to Ukrainian.

[00:17:12]Mhm.

[00:17:15]Have you spoken to your family since you've been here?

[00:17:17]I can. They let you. How long have you been here?

[00:17:22]More than 2 and 1/2 years. More than 2 and 1/2 years. Yeah.

[00:17:29]That's a long time. How old are you?

[00:17:31]20 25. No, 25.

[00:17:33]>> 25.

[00:17:37]Thank you for chatting with me. Is there anything that you want to say? Any message for anyone watching?

[00:17:44]A lot of people >> I don't know.

[00:17:46]>> No? Are you sure?

[00:17:47]>> will see this.

[00:17:49]My family know about me. They know, yeah.

[00:17:54]Thank you.

[00:17:56]Are you good on the B-roll?

[00:18:00]Bye. Goodbye.

[00:18:03]Okay, so that's a perfect example of how I knew if we asked the guards to leave, then he he wants to talk. You can typically tell when someone wants to talk. This is a prisoner of war. They have absolutely no one to talk to.

[00:18:15]Nobody will ever know the true story of what's happening here or what these people think or what's being done. Who are these individuals, right? Inside the camp, even admitting who you are can become dangerous.

[00:18:28]No, can we just debrief the fact that what just happened was absolutely crazy, to be honest.

[00:18:35]I feel like I'm like in a movie. I know you guys have seen me in a lot of crazy places, but I can't lie. This is >> [music] >> by far by far This is by far, yeah.

[00:18:47]Camera guy and I are both kind of like [music] woah. We toured the camp towards the end of our Ukraine assignment after having covered drones, death, [music] everything that is textbook war. But what became clear to me at this camp where there was a sense of calm the underlying [music] tone was incredibly dark. War doesn't end at the front lines. [music] It extends into places like this, into the routines, the waiting, into the lives [music] that are put on hold.

[00:19:23]And sometimes it looks just like this.

[00:19:27]Men in uniform, shaved heads facing down, moving in silence one [music] after another, the same thing day in day out.

[00:19:37]It's an image that carries [music] history with it, whether it belongs here or not.

[00:19:43]Because war doesn't just shape the present.

[00:19:46]>> [music] >> It echoes.

[00:19:48]It blurs lines between what we see and what we think we [music] understand.

[00:19:54]So every morning at 9:00 a.m. across Ukraine, uh they have this moment of silence for the fallen soldiers. Everyone on the highway stop their car, gets out, stands up.

[00:20:05]It's in total silence.

[00:20:07]Um and even on the app that a lot of people here use to track uh air raids, that app will also notify people of when the moment of silence is about to happen.

[00:20:26]OKAY, SO RIGHT NOW AS YOU CAN tell everyone is stopped their car and standing outside of their cars. This is a moment of silence for fallen soldiers in Ukraine.

[00:20:40]We're on the highway and everyone is stopped, standing outside, silent.

[00:20:48]Honestly, it's moments like this where you realize how much tragedy is happening here.

[00:20:55]Um and just how many people have died.

[00:21:00]Some of the men here fought willingly.

[00:21:02]Some of them even believed in it. And some may have simply been pulled into it.

[00:21:10]But here it doesn't [music] matter.

[00:21:11]By orders, by circumstance, by the kind of momentum that this invasion has created, where individual choice becomes harder to trace, even in speaking to these very individuals.

[00:21:24]And standing [music] here, watching this, immersing myself in it, it becomes difficult to separate who someone was before [music] the war from who they are inside of it.

[00:21:38]Because in the end, this invasion doesn't just redraw borders. It rearranges people and leaves behind [music] questions that don't have clear answers.