Kyiv urged Moscow on Nov. 3 to provide a list of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) prepared for an exchange, following Russia’s accusation that Ukraine was obstructing the process.
Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets reached out to his Russian counterpart: "We are always ready to exchange prisoners of war!" he wrote on his official Telegram channel.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Nov. 2 accused Ukraine of effectively sabotaging the exchange process and refusing to accept its own citizens. Zakharova claimed that Russia’s defense ministry had offered to release 935 Ukrainian prisoners of war, but Ukraine had accepted only 279.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, both countries have frequently exchanged prisoners. The most recent swap occurred in mid-October, with each side bringin back 95 prisoners.
Lubinets countered that Ukraine remains willing to receive its citizens and blamed Russia for slowing down the exchanges. Russia's Commissioner for Human Rights Tatyana Moskalkova also commented on Nov. 2 alleging that Ukraine has "politicized" the matter.
On Oct. 18, Lubinets said that Russian forces have executed at least 102 Ukrainian prisoners of war since 2022, citing data from the Prosecutor General's Office. Lubinets said that Ukrainian authorities document the cases as much as possible and pass the evidence to the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation.
There have been multiple reports of executions of Ukrainian POWs by Russian soldiers over this year. Videos and photos resurfaced on social media with evidence of the crimes, including drone footage showing the shooting of the POWs as they surrendered to Russian troops, as well as videos and photos with bodies of Ukrainian soldiers suggesting torture and violent death in captivity.
Martin Fornusek
