Prisoner exchanges with Russia may become systematic in 2025 - Ukraine's Ombudsman
Photo: Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
There is a preliminary agreement with Russia that prisoner exchanges in 2025 should become systematic. The priority is the return of those who are seriously ill or seriously wounded, states the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, in an interview with the Rada TV channel.
"Currently, there is a preliminary agreement that exchanges in 2025 should become systematic, with a priority on the return of seriously ill and seriously wounded individuals," said Lubinets.
According to him, the parties have also preliminarily agreed that every Ukrainian prisoner of war and civilian hostage will receive a package of belongings from Ukraine with the help of the ICRC.
"I don't want this to sound like an announcement right now. But we will see if the Russian side keeps its word. If so, Ukrainian society will see this systematization in terms of numbers, timelines, and categories," the ombudsman added.
Prisoner exchanges with Russia
On December 30, Ukraine returned another 189 of its citizens from Russian captivity. These were defenders of Azovstal and Mariupol, Chornobyl, Zmiinyi Island, and from various front-line directions.
According to the Defense Intelligence, in 2024, 356 more Ukrainians were returned from Russian captivity than in 2023.
Overall, in 2024, Ukraine carried out 11 exchanges and freed 1,358 citizens from Russian captivity.
