Around 40% of those released from Russian captivity are people who were reported missing – Ukraine's Human Rights Commissioner

Almost 40% of the people whom Ukraine managed to bring back from Russian captivity are those who had the status of missing persons under special circumstances and whose detention in Russia was not confirmed by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Source: Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Parliamentary Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsman), during a meeting with the families of prisoners of war and missing persons 

Quote: "For us, there is no legal distinction between them and those who have the status of prisoners of war. We are making every effort to bring back each and every one of them."

Details: A soldier is considered missing if they have not come back from a combat mission, their status as a prisoner of war has not been confirmed, or if neither their brothers-in-arms nor their relatives have received their body.

Even if their brothers-in-arms witnessed how the Russians took him/her captive, the fighter has the missing in action status until other information is confirmed by the International Committee of the Red Cross or another source.

In addition, personal data about a soldier held by a military unit may differ from the information about him/her in the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War or other government agencies.

However, the confirmed or unconfirmed status of a prisoner of war does not affect the prisoner swap process.

Background: 

• Earlier, Lubinets stated that more than 14,000 Ukrainian civilians were being held in Russian captivity, and it is even more difficult to release them than children or military personnel.
• At the same time, Ukraine has captured a sufficient number of Russian soldiers to conduct prisoner swaps and bring home Ukrainian defenders.

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