Ukraine expects further prisoner of war exchange with Russia
Published: Thursday, Jan 4th 2024, 10:20
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Following the largest exchange of prisoners of war between Ukraine and Russia to date, Kiev is hoping that more imprisoned fighters will return home.
More heroes could return home in the coming weeks, said Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinez on television in Kiev. "The task is to bring absolutely everyone back," he said. After a long break, Moscow, which has been at war with Ukraine for almost two years, and Kiev exchanged prisoners on Tuesday for the first time since the summer.
According to official information, 230 Ukrainian men and women returned from Russian captivity. It was reported that 248 Russian prisoners were released to their home country. There had already been dozens of such actions. Lubinez also said that there had recently been movement on the Russian side, which gave hope for a new exchange.
Experts from the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in Washington saw Moscow's return to the practice of exchanges after a long break as a calculated move following recent reports of mistreatment of Ukrainian fighters in Russian captivity. According to the ISW analysis, Russia wanted to show that it complies with international humanitarian law as part of possibly larger-scale information efforts.
According to information from Kiev, more than 4,000 Ukrainians are still in Russian captivity. More than 2800 defenders have returned home so far. The head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Andriy Yermak, reaffirmed the goal of returning all prisoners to their homeland. The exchange of all prisoners is also part of President Volodymyr Zelensky's so-called peace formula.
Jermak announced on Thursday that the next meeting on the formula at the level of the national security advisors of the states is planned for January in Switzerland. A Ukraine conference is planned there on January 14, one day before the start of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.
It follows on from a similar meeting in Malta in October, which was attended by more than 60 countries. The negotiations also serve to maintain support for Ukraine. Russia is not invited to the meetings.
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