The article considers problematic issues regarding the legal regulation of the status of prisoners of war. The scientific task is solved on the basis of an analysis of national legislation and its compliance with the provisions of international humanitarian law. It is noted that starting from the period of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war, there has been a positive trend in the implementation of international military law into national legislation regarding the status of prisoners of war as participants in the armed conflict. This is evidenced by the adopted regulatory and legal acts at the strategic and operational levels of management within the framework of national justice. The modern retrospective of the institutional support of the mechanism for the release from captivity is studied, which is characterized by the improvement of the regulatory and legal framework and the range of new subjects involved in the exchange of prisoners of war and their maintenance. Conclusions are drawn about the need to finalize regulatory and legal acts in terms of clarifying the content of the concepts of “release from captivity”, “termination of captivity”, as well as improving the organizational and legal foundations of the release from captivity. It has been established that the scenarios for the end of captivity envisaged in practice require regulatory and legal consolidation within the framework of military law. The prospect of further research is the improvement of international and national legislation on the criminal prosecution of prisoners of war who have received a certain procedural status in criminal proceedings.

Keywords: prisoner of war, prisoner of war, armed conflict, combatant, international humanitarian law, legal regulation, release from captivity, exchange.

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