Ukraine returned 106 civilians from russian captivity out of hundreds believed held

Ukraine managed to return a total of 106 civilians from russian captivity.

Darina Zarivna, the adviser to the head of the President's Office, said this in an interview with KyivPost.

"At this moment, russia returned 106 civilians," she said.

The adviser also explained that according to international legal documents, civilians as non-combatants should be returned by russia without any conditions, without using them in the process of exchanging prisoners of war.

She reported that there were known cases when Ukrainian journalists found themselves in enemy captivity.

"We should understand that when a journalist is a civilian, he is considered a hostage, not a POW. He is a non-combatant. According to the Geneva Conventions, russia must release such people without any condition. However, if a journalist joins the army, the rules of the Geneva Conventions apply to him as a combatant," Zarivna emphasized.

Reference

During the work of the Coordination Headquarters, 1,646 soldiers were released from russian captivity. 

According to a recent PBS report, hundreds of Ukrainian civilians are believed to be held in russian-run jails.

Ukraine's top human rights organization, the Center for Civil Liberties, has requests concerning around 900 civilians captured by russia since the war began, with more than half still in custody.

Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's human rights commissioner, says the number is even higher. His office received inquiries concerning more than 20,000 civilian hostages detained by russia.