Ukrainian and Turkish Ombudsmen convene with families of POWs to discuss release from Russian captivity

Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets and his Turkish colleague Şeref Malkoç discussed with the families of Ukrainian prisoners of war the issue of releasing their relatives from Russian captivity.

Ukrinform reported this.

Over 800 people participated in this meeting in Kyiv, including representatives of Ukraine's intelligence and the Security Service of Ukraine, as the correspondent of Ukrinform reports.

"The Russian Federation is violating the rights of all prisoners of war and civilian hostages held in temporarily occupied territories (TOT) and within its own borders. This includes denying access to representatives of the ICRC and other international organizations who have not been given the chance to verify the conditions of detention or provide necessary medical assistance to these individuals. The lack of aid and support for our citizens is a major concern," Lubinets said.

^{Photo: Dmytro Lubinets / Facebook}

In his turn, Malkoç emphasized that the Ukrainian people show extraordinary courage in the struggle.

"This struggle is just because you are defending your country, your people. We want to wish that this war ends as soon as possible, that the occupation is lifted, and that Ukraine regains its territorial integrity, independence, and sovereignty in accordance with international law. I understand your pain and your trouble," the Turkish ombudsman said.

At this meeting, the relatives of the prisoners of war asked Malkoç to pay attention to the seriously wounded defenders, including military sailors, and to the issue of returning the bodies of the fallen soldiers from the TOT. They called on the Turkish ombudsman to help free the women from captivity.

^{Photo: Dmytro Lubinets / Facebook}

A representative from the ICRC was also in attendance at the meeting. Ukrainian prisoners of war relatives highlighted several issues when interacting with this organization. They claimed that the ICRC has acknowledged the presence of their relatives in captivity but does not disclose their whereabouts. Furthermore, they alleged that the ICRC has declined to search for an "Azov" soldier who was captured in 2014, stating that they are only searching for individuals taken prisoner after February 24, 2022, and so on.

They also drew attention to the fact that no international organization visited Olenivka after the Russian Federation committed a terrorist attack there and also stated the need to investigate the crash of the Russian Il-76 plane in January and who was on that plane.