Ukrainian Ombudsman does not believe in an 'all-for-all' exchange with Russia in near future
Photo: Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Despite the operation of Ukrainian troops in Russia's Kursk region and the replenishment of the exchange fund, a prisoner exchange with Russia in the "all-for-all" format will not take place in the near future, according to Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets.
According to him, the Ukrainian side constantly initiates large exchanges, including "all-for-all" exchanges through intermediaries.
"Do I believe that an 'all-for-all' exchange could happen soon? No, I don’t believe so. Do I believe that the Ukrainian side is doing everything possible to make large exchanges happen? Yes, a large team from the Coordination Headquarters is working on this, and I personally am involved in it daily," Lubinets said.
At the same time, he confirmed that the Ukrainian operation in the Kursk region is improving the situation regarding the return of Ukrainian citizens from Russia, as well as from the occupied territories of Ukraine.
The Ombudsman noted that the Ukrainian side wants to rely on the principle of fairness in this process and agree with Russia on the principles for conducting exchange processes.
"We need to use the principle of fairness. Those who have been in captivity the longest should be released first. We have lists of prisoners of war and civilian hostages whom the Russians captured even before the full-scale invasion – since 2014. We have defenders of Mariupol who have been in captivity for more than two years. Among them are even those who, after verification and confirmation by the International Committee of the Red Cross, were injured while in captivity, which is a complete absurdity from the perspective of international humanitarian law," Lubinets explained.
At the same time, he did not specify whether the Russian side has already provided lists of individuals they want to prioritize for return as part of the exchange, citing the sensitivity of the exchange agreements.
However, the Ombudsman added that he understands the public's need to be informed about the progress of the negotiations.
According to him, this is why it was decided during a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to create a public council on prisoner exchanges, so that the families of the captives and leaders of public organizations can be involved in these processes and receive certain information.
Prisoner exchanges
On August 15, the strategy for returning prisoners was presented at the Staff meeting.
In particular, Ukraine will expand the negotiating group responsible for preparing prisoner exchanges. This group will include an additional six entities.
Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Defense Intelligence, stated that in future prisoner exchanges with Russia, priority will be given to the severely wounded, women, and all those who defended Azovstal.
Additionally, as recently mentioned by Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, his Russian counterpart, Tatyana Moskalkova, has initiated negotiations regarding prisoner exchanges in the context of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' operation in the Kursk region.
