Ukraine: large-scale prisoner swap with Russia not happening soon
Read NV on Google
Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets expressed skepticism about the possibility of a large-scale "all for all" prisoner exchange with Russia happening soon, citing a lack of readiness from the Kremlin, Ukrinform reported on July 9.
"There's a difference in numbers," Lubinets said.
"There are significantly more detained Ukrainian citizens on the territory of the Russian Federation."
Ukraine is negotiating with partners regarding such an exchange and has their support. Meanwhile, Russians "are willing to conduct exchange processes, ready to talk about all categories of Ukrainian citizens, but they do not demonstrate readiness to conduct rapid large-scale exchanges."
During the recent exchange, Ukraine managed to bring back five citizens from Belarusian territory for the first time, Lubinets said. Finally "some channel of communication" with the Belarusian side has emerged, the Ombudsman said.
"Ukrainian citizens from Belarusian territory did not report the use of any torture, beatings..." he said.
"Yes, we legally interpret that they were unlawfully convicted, but there were no tortures. The detention conditions were more or less normal, which could be seen even by their appearance."
Ukraine succeeded in returning ten people from Russian captivity on June 28. Two Redemptorist priests, Deputy Head of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis Nariman Dzhelyal, and several civilians taken prisoner by Russia before the full-scale invasion have returned home.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on June 25 that 90 Ukrainian defenders have returned to Ukraine from Russian captivity, including soldiers from the National Guard, Navy, Army, Territorial Defense, and Border Guard Service.
The military war may be swinging in our favor, but the information war continues.
Just as an army needs soldiers, so does a free society need its journalists to ensure that people have access to honest, trustworthy voices to understand the world around them.
For the past five years, The New Voice of Ukraine has been working tirelessly to push back against Russian narratives and defend democracy. But we cannot do it alone.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon for just $5 a month – your donation does directly to supporting journalists and ensuring that this front of the infowar says solid and defended.
Thank you.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
