Ukraine and Russia again exchange prisoners of war | War Ukraine and Russia

36 soldiers, 6 officers and 2 civilians were handed over to Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry said it has recovered 40 soldiers. They are already on a plane to Moscow.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, some 2,300 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been extradited to Ukraine. Figures for the Russians are less clear. In any case, the exchange of prisoners of war is the only area on which Russia and Ukraine are currently still regularly negotiating.

On the occasion of Orthodox Easter this month, a large group of 130 Ukrainian prisoners of war were released and returned home. Jermak then posted images of dozens of released men, with the Ukrainian flag. Also today, the chief of the presidential office shared photos of the released men.

Last week, Ukraine’s human rights commissioner reported that his country has “dozens” of videos of executions and torture of its citizens in Russian captivity. In an interview with Ukrajinska Pravda, Human Rights Commissioner Dmitro Lubinev accused the Kremlin of systematically violating the Geneva Conventions. That treaty protects prisoners of war, but the videos allegedly show images of “decapitations, the cutting of genitals, ears, noses, limbs and fingers”. Several perpetrators in the images are said to have already been identified. At least one of them has already been killed in combat.

A week earlier, a video went viral on social media showing a man in a Russian military uniform beheading a suspected Ukrainian prisoner of war. Such images have been circulating on the internet for some time, including those of Russian victims. The United Nations has identified violations on both sides of the conflict.

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