Ombudsman on returning prisoners: Hope for positive news by new year
Photo: human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Positive news regarding the return of Ukrainians from Russian captivity may be expected before the new year. However, there is a risk that Russia could undermine the agreements, states Ukraine's Human Rights Ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, in a telethon interview.
"Regarding the issue of returning prisoners of war, the main mediator is the United Arab Emirates. There is communication, and I really hope that we will have positive news by the new year. I don’t want the Ukrainian public to perceive this information as an announcement. You can never be 100% certain that an agreement with Russia will materialize," said the ombudsman.
Lubinets stated that Russia refused to cooperate on returning Ukrainian children. According to him, each return of a child is a separate operation, sometimes multi-component and long-term.
"If we were to return one child every day, it would take over 55 years to bring back the verified Ukrainian children we currently have. Meanwhile, the Russians continue to deport, take away, and forcibly relocate," he stressed.
The ombudsman pointed out that about 1.5 million children remain in Ukraine’s temporarily occupied territories, all of them at risk of deportation.
Prisoner exchanges
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Ukraine and Russia have carried out 58 prisoner exchanges. Over 3,500 Ukrainians have been able to return from Russian captivity.
The latest exchange took place on the night of October 19, with 95 Ukrainian soldiers returning home.
Earlier, Ukraine stated its readiness for an "all-for-all" exchange formula. Russia has ignored the initiative.
