Ukraine's Defence Intelligence says Russia's POW list contains mistakes and already released people
Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova has published a list of Ukrainian prisoners of war whom Ukraine supposedly "does not want" to bring back. However, this list includes seven citizens who have already come back home.
Source: Brigadier General Dmytro Usov, Deputy Head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine and Secretary of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War
Quote: "The Russian side is making loud statements about the number of prisoners of war they can supposedly swap, and even lists are being published. Indeed, we have not received any real offers through official channels. This game of the Russians is only for the public, and it is particularly cynical. They are manipulating people's fates and the vulnerable situation of the prisoners’ relatives.
We have carefully analysed the lists that have been published. What we see is that seven of the prisoners have already been brought back, there are many mistakes in surnames and dates of birth. Even 14 civilians are among the names. That is, Russian propagandists are offering to exchange our ordinary citizens for their military, which is a violation of international humanitarian law.
However, these lists and loud statements are only intended to stir up the situation. It is an attempt to discredit Ukrainian state authorities."
Details: Usov said that in fact, the Coordination Headquarters receives real proposals from the Russian side only regarding the exchange of prisoners captured on the Kursk front. The Russian authorities are not interested in the Russians that were captured on other fronts.
Hundreds of Russian prisoners of war, including seriously wounded soldiers, have been staying in Ukrainian camps for over a year or two. There are those whose fate the aggressor country has not been interested in since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
Nonetheless, Usov stressed that the conditions of detention of the Russian soldiers cannot be compared to the torture chambers that Russia uses for Ukrainians. The Ukrainian side is holding prisoners of war in accordance with the Geneva Conventions with only one goal in mind: to swap them for Ukrainian defenders as soon as possible.
Quote: "There is no other reason to keep them here and spend our taxpayers' money on them.
We also did not see our seriously wounded soldiers and women in the published lists. These are the categories that should be brought back in accordance with international humanitarian law in the first place.
Russia does not abide by any laws of war and is unwilling to do so. The Russian so-called authorities have not been and are not interested in the fate of their own citizens. Propagandists are playing to the public. The real mechanisms of return – repatriation, mixed medical boards, exchange of ‘all for all’ – are still firmly blocked by the Kremlin."
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