Ukraine is ready for creative solutions for the return of prisoners — Ukraine's intelligence
Фото: dmytro_lubinetzs
Among the Russian prisoners, there are those in whose return the leadership of the Russian Federation is interested, so Ukraine is ready for any creative solutions for the return of its soldiers.
Andrii Yusov, a representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine's Ministry of Defense, talked about this on the air of the telethon.
"The main thing for Ukraine is to ensure the result. For this, mediators are involved. This time, Ukraine is grateful to the United Arab Emirates, but this list is comprehensive, and we are ready to expand and increase it as much as possible. The tools may be different, but we are ready for the most creative solutions," said the official.
Yusov added that the main thing in the exchange process is the interest of both parties.
We will remind that Russia is slowing down this process and is in no hurry to return the prisoners. However, according to the intelligence officer, the so-called elections in the Russian Federation put pressure on this exchange process.
The intelligence representative was asked if there are persons in whose exchange Russia is interested, to which Yusov replied:
"Yes. And the number of such persons is increasing. Of course, the exchange process, especially the negotiation process, is extremely delicate, closed, and non-public.
In most cases, commenting on it is inappropriate and can be harmful. Yes, among the Russian prisoners, some persons are of great interest, if not to Russian society, then to the Russian military and political leadership."
What is known about the last exchange of prisoners of war
The Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War noted that the exchange, which took place on January 3, was the largest in terms of the number of returned defenders.
Among the released 230 Ukrainian men and women were, in particular:
- 130 representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Among them, 14 are from ground defense, and 14 are from the Naval Forces;
- 55 national guardsmen;
- 38 border guards;
- 1 policeman;
- 6 civilians who were illegally deprived of liberty.
Among those returned were those who had the official status of a prisoner of war, confirmed through the International Committee of the Red Cross (182 persons), as well as those Ukrainian servicemen who were considered missing and had the status of "wanted person" (48).
Most returnees are men (225), and five are women. Two hundred thirteen people belong to the privates and sergeants. Among them, eleven are officers.
In particular, seven defenders of Snake Island, a musician of the military band, a servicewoman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who was deprived of her freedom by the Russians while on maternity leave, and national guardsmen who were captured while performing their duties at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant also returned home.
In total, 2,828 Ukrainians were released from Russian captivity during the full-scale war, and this process will continue in the future.
It should be noted that the places where Russian prisoners of war are held in Ukraine are overcrowded.
At the end of November, the Coordination Headquarters was informed that the Russian Federation had suspended prisoner exchanges to influence Ukrainian society.
In addition, earlier, the ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets noted that many Russian prisoners want to return home, but Russia ignores their requests and refuses to exchange them.
