Kyiv ramps up pressure on Russia with new envoy for prisoners and missing persons
Diplomat Dmytro Ponomarenko (Photo: Facebook/Dmytro Ponomarenko)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is stepping up efforts to bring Ukrainians home and protect their rights in captivity. To this end, the ministry has created a new position of Ambassador-at-Large, which has been filled by Dmytro Ponomarenko, according to a statement by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Telegram.
Dmytro Ponomarenko is a specialist with a solid international background, the ministry notes. For years, he has been building Ukraine's ties in the East, and this is his strategic direction. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is confident that Ponomarenko's experience will help attract new intermediaries.
The diplomat's key tasks will include:
- Preventing torture – Russian forces must stop the inhumane treatment of our warriors;
- Freeing civilians – this refers to people whom Russia is illegally holding in prisons;
- Searching for the missing – cooperation with international partners to determine the fate of thousands of Ukrainians.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs already has clear plans in this direction for 2026. The ministry does not work alone but coordinates efforts with other structures, thereby increasing effectiveness.
Together with the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War and the Public Council, a large-scale advocacy effort will be launched. Ukraine is planning a series of international events, including work to strengthen sanctions against Russia.
What is known about the new special envoy
Dmytro Ponomarenko worked for many years on developing relations with countries of the Asia-Pacific region.
During 2021–2025, he served as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Korea. Concurrently, he represented the interests of our state in Mongolia.
Latest news on the return of Ukrainian prisoners of war
Before Easter, Ukraine brought home another group of defenders from Russian captivity as part of a swap with Russia. This time, 182 Ukrainians were successfully returned: 175 military personnel and 7 civilians. Nearly all had been held in captivity since 2022.
According to Andrii Yusov, a representative of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, a more substantial exchange had been planned, but the Russian units refused to take back their own people and return Ukrainians. Despite the refusal, Kyiv hopes that prisoner exchanges will continue after Easter.
Meanwhile, the head of the Presidential Office, Kyrylo Budanov, announced a new stage of prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia. It could take place as early as the end of this week.
