Problems with the exchange of Russian and Ukrainian prisoners of war leave thousands in the "gray zone", - WSJ
Date: 2024-11-29 Author: Кирило Загоруйко Categories: WAR
There are thousands of prisoners of war in Ukraine and Russia, whom the countries have not yet returned home. The reason is that the parties often do not come to an agreement on the exchange of prisoners, writes The Wall Street Journal.
It is noted that there are about 8,000 Ukrainian soldiers in Russia, and up to 5,000 Russians in Ukraine. Journalists emphasized that the countries do not disclose data on the number of prisoners of war.
The publication shared that Ukraine is experiencing problems due to the fact that the Russians have been steadily advancing on the eastern front for several months. There is a shortage of people in the country, and winter could further worsen the situation with Ukrainian energy infrastructure if the Russian Federation begins to attack it even more diligently.
According to journalists, the return of prisoners of war home has become one of the most difficult problems for Ukraine. They believe that Russia is trying to take advantage of this.
Ukraine and Russia regularly conduct prisoner exchanges, but thousands of people still remain in the "gray zone." Among them are soldiers who were captured in the first days of a full-scale war.
The Ukrainian government is resorting to all sorts of schemes to return its soldiers, even offering its own citizens who were accused of collaborating with Russia, and the bones of a Soviet-era spy buried in the west of the country, journalists said. Journalists said that hundreds of Ukrainians are serving sentences on charges of collaborating with Russia in a special prison 19 kilometers from the eastern front line. In Kyiv, they claim that dozens of them signed documents agreeing to be delivered to Russia, but so far only one person has been exchanged in this way.
The publication added that in Ukraine they regularly say that Russia is stalling for time and using prisoners of war to put pressure on President Volodymyr Zelensky. In addition, the wives and mothers of Ukrainian soldiers often hold demonstrations in Kyiv.
"For the Russians, it makes no difference whether their soldiers are in captivity. They have nothing to fight social unrest with. Our relatives are constantly on the streets, speaking, publishing information and putting pressure on government agencies," said Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the President's Office.
In addition, Ukraine accuses the Russian Federation of trying to sow discontent among the relatives of Ukrainian prisoners of war. It is noted that they are receiving calls from subscribers from Russian phone numbers who call for street protests.
According to journalists, Russia believes that Ukraine is setting unrealistic conditions for the exchange of prisoners of war. However, the Russian official responsible for coordinating the prisoner exchange did not respond to a request for comment.
Prisoners of war and human rights groups say that systematic torture is carried out in Russian prisons. Journalists recalled that in July, one Ukrainian soldier died in Russian captivity from a closed chest injury caused by a blunt object. This was confirmed by the results of an autopsy conducted in Ukraine.
Journalists spoke with Ukrainian soldier Artem Vishnyak, who has been in Russian captivity for 2.5 years. They found out that his mother sat for 10 hours a day in protest near the Ukrainian government building along with the wives and mothers of other captured Ukrainian servicemen.
In Ukraine, Senior Sergeant Sergei Galkin is being held in a detention center for Russian prisoners of war, who is the only member of the eight-man unit still in captivity. He told journalists:
"I'm stuck in a gray zone. Every day you live in anticipation of some kind of answer."
According to journalists, in the Ukrainian detention center where Galkin is being held, Russians work in workshops, producing furniture and souvenir bags with slogans like "I love Lviv." Many of the prisoners spent more than a year there awaiting exchange.
"Russia doesn't need us," Ruslan Abilov, 24, who surrendered to Ukrainian troops in October 2022 after five days on the front lines, told reporters.
