Zakharova and Moskalkova revealed that Ukraine is disrupting the exchange of prisoners: ombudsman responds emotionally

Representatives of the Russian aggressor country have accused Ukraine of allegedly not wanting to take back its prisoners of war. These statements were made by the Russian Federation's Human Rights Ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova and Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

Both claimed that Kyiv "does not want to work on exchanges". Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, responded to these accusations, noting that our country is always ready to accept all our citizens.

What they say in Russia

Moskalkova said that "due to the politicization of the issue by the Ukrainian side," the exchange processes are extremely difficult and slow. She said that Ukraine has allegedly not agreed to accept soldiers from the 102nd, 126th, and 118th separate brigades for more than a year. According to her, only 279 of the 935 Ukrainian servicemen offered for exchange have been accepted.

"We consider it necessary to return to a constructive dialogue and speed up the exchange of prisoners," the ombudsman wrote.

Meanwhile, Zakharova said that there is a direct way to exchange prisoners of war. "All channels for this are institutionalized and working. They (Ukraine - Ed.) do not want to do it," she said at a briefing.

The Russian Foreign Ministry representative also criticized the Ukrainian side's desire to involve partners from other countries in the exchange process, who could become intermediaries between Ukraine and Russia.

Lubinets' response

The Ukrainian ombudsman said that he wants to receive from his Russian counterpart all the lists of Ukrainian prisoners of war whom Russia is urgently ready to return. He emphasized that it is usually the Russian Federation that slows down the exchange process and uses it as a method of influencing Ukrainian society.

"After all, Ukraine is always ready to accept all the lists and all our citizens! We are always ready to exchange prisoners of war! We adhere to the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law!" Lubinets wrote.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, Lubinets said that international partners had made new proposals that could speed up the process of returning civilian Ukrainians and prisoners of war, as well as deported children, from Russian captivity. The main idea is to find a state that will undertake to take care of this issue and perform the functions of Ukrainian diplomats in Russia.

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