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Russian Group Linked to FSB Uses Ukrainian POWs to Target Their Families, Investigation Finds
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A Russian group operating under the name "Shield of Mothers" is using Ukrainian prisoners of war to collect intelligence on their relatives and pressure them into carrying out illegal activities.
The investigation by Ukrainian outlet Telebachennia Toronto on July 12 alleges that the organization, which presents itself as a volunteer initiative assisting families in locating prisoners of war, is linked to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB).
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According to the report, “Shield of Mothers” is not officially registered in Russia as a public organization and instead operates as an informal "volunteer association."
Journalists said the group requests extensive personal information from relatives seeking information about missing or captured Ukrainian service members, including the soldier's full name, year of birth, date of last contact, military unit, area of deployment, and a photograph.
After obtaining those details, the organization's representatives reportedly begin collecting information about the relatives themselves, asking about their relationship to the prisoner, where they live, and whether they have sought assistance from other organizations.
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The investigation states that the group also gathers personal information directly from Ukrainian prisoners of war, enabling its representatives to contact their families by phone or messaging applications.
According to testimony cited by Telebachennia Toronto, the organization initially provides relatives with photographs and videos of captured service members and, in some cases, facilitates communication with them.
The report alleges that the group later demands that family members perform illegal tasks in exchange for continued assistance. These requests include acting as couriers, transmitting the coordinates of facilities, or carrying out other assignments that could expose them to criminal prosecution.
Journalists said relatives are also promised assistance in securing the release of captured soldiers.
Instead, the report alleges that representatives repeatedly remind family members to comply with their demands in order to maintain leverage over them.
Telebachennia Toronto also cites the group's unprecedented access to facilities holding Ukrainian prisoners of war as evidence of its alleged ties to Russian security services, noting that even the International Committee of the Red Cross lacks such access.
The findings echo warnings issued by Ukraine's Human Rights Commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, who said in May that Russia was conducting a coordinated information campaign targeting the families of Ukrainian prisoners of war in an effort to manipulate them into actions that could damage Ukraine's international standing.
According to Lubinets, Russian operatives contact relatives of captured Ukrainian service members by phone and messaging applications, offering supposed assistance with prisoner exchanges while urging them to send pre-written letters to Ukrainian authorities, US institutions, and international organizations.
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