Russia freezes prisoner exchange with Ukraine: Coordination Headquarters representative explains the enemy's decision

Russia has frozen the exchange of prisoners with Ukraine. The last exchange took place in August 2023, as a result of which, our country managed to return only 22 soldiers. The reasons why the occupiers stopped this process are unknown to the Ukrainian side, but it is working to resume them.

The Russians are likely delaying the exchanges to conduct their propaganda campaigns. This was stated on Friday, November 17, by the head of the press service of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Petro Yatsenko, in a commentary to the Russian edition of the "Current Time".

According to him, Ukraine has many Russian prisoners of war and the country is ready to exchange them for its defenders.

One of the possible reasons for this, he said, is Russia's attempts to undermine Ukrainian society as the Russians want to convince relatives of Ukrainian prisoners of war that the exchanges are not taking place because of Kyiv's position.

"This is how they use prisoners of war as another lever of influence on Ukrainians. It's a double-edged sword. Not to mention the fact that they are not interested in the fate of their own prisoners of war. For the Russian side, they are just bargaining chips and fodder for artillery. They delay the exchanges, create various obstacles," Yatsenko said.

He noted that the places where Russian prisoners of war are held are already overcrowded in our country. At the same time, Ukraine, as a European country, creates good conditions for them. The same cannot be said about the Russian side.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, more than 2,300 Ukrainians are still in Russian captivity, most of whom are military personnel. In total, 4,337 Ukrainian citizens have been deprived of their liberty.

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