Kyiv rally at US Embassy: Ukrainians urge inclusion of POW return in negotiation conditions

On March 6, relatives and friends of Ukrainian prisoners of war gathered outside the US Embassy in Ukraine, advocating for the release of all POWs as a priority before any agreements are signed.

Rubryka reports this.

The event, titled "No 'Deals' without Freedom for UA POWs!" emphasized the necessity of prioritizing the freedom of Ukrainian POWs in any negotiations.

In the eleventh year of the war and the third year since the full-scale invasion, the aggressor state, Russia, continues to detain tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians and military personnel under inhumane conditions. This ongoing situation flagrantly violates the Geneva Conventions and international law, constituting crimes against humanity.

Tens of thousands of Ukrainians are still waiting to return home, suffering from bullying, torture, inadequate nutrition, lack of medical care, and lack of contact with the world, according to a report by the NGO "Voyatskyi Vyzvil".

"We are going out to the US Embassy with a clear appeal: the US is a leading country in the democratic world, which has always defended human rights, justice and the values ​​of a free democratic world.

Today, the US must use all its influence and power to force Russia to stop abusing Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian hostages and return them to their homeland!" the organization writes.

The protesters called on the US:

• to intensify pressure on Russia as an aggressor state,
• to make the return of Ukrainian prisoners one of the key conditions of any negotiations.

Ukrainians held photographs of tortured Ukrainians in captivity and posters in Ukrainian and English.

For reference:

The international human rights organization Amnesty International presented the report "Deafening Silence. Forced Disappearances, Incommunicado Detention and Torture of Ukrainian Prisoners by Russia".

The AI ​​report is based on interviews with 104 people, including former prisoners of war, and documents crimes against humanity and war crimes in Russian captivity.

Over the past year, human rights activists have recorded more than 109 executions of Ukrainian soldiers in captivity and systematic torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russians.

On January 15, 24 soldiers and a civilian were returned to Ukraine from Russian captivity. The Ukrainians released from captivity were wounded, one has a severe form of tuberculosis.

Among the released prisoners are defenders of Mariupol and Azovstal, as well as Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

Also on February 5, another exchange of prisoners of war took place between Ukraine and Russia, during which 150 Ukrainian defenders were exchanged. Among them were soldiers, sergeants and officers.

On February 14, with the assistance of the Red Cross, the bodies of 757 dead Ukrainian soldiers who fought on various fronts were returned to Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his opening remarks at the "Support Ukraine" summit held on the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion, stated that achieving peace requires more than a single day. He highlighted the necessity of clear security guarantees and suggested that the release of all Ukrainian prisoners of war could serve as a significant signal towards peace.