Indefferent Motherland

Ukrainian politicians fear that returned soldiers will refute stories of torture in Russian captivity.

Ukraine has not taken back 500 of its military personnel as part of a prisoner exchange for several months, said Tatyana Moskalkova, Commissioner for Human Rights in Russia.

“For several months it has not been possible to get Ukraine to take back its prisoners in exchange.

The Ukrainian side was sent a list of 500 military personnel who could return to their home. But the military leadership is in no hurry to return them to their families and friends, setting new and far-fetched conditions,” she said. There are reports that Ukraine has selected “38 valuable” from the 500 prisoners included in the list, and does not want to take the rest.

The Ombudswoman added that the list was sent to her Ukrainian colleague Dmitry Lubinets “with a request to take measures to speed up exchange processes.” She also stated that Moscow offered Kyiv to exchange two Catholic priests for two Orthodox priests, but Ukraine did not agree to this.

Lubinets did not comment on the appearance of the list. On May 23, in his Telegram channel, he reported that the situation with the exchange of Ukrainians was “complicated.” “Russia is blocking this process and refusing to approve the lists that we provide to the Russian side for exchanges,” he said.

In Kyiv, the prisoner exchange was named one of the main topics of the forum in Switzerland.

The last exchange of prisoners was on February 8 according to the “100 to 100” formula.