"The issue of Ukrainian prisoners of war and illegally detained civilians is not a matter of bargaining — it is a matter of human dignity and international law"

Key points:

1. Ukraine insists on an “all-for-all” exchange, as some Ukrainian citizens have been held in Russian captivity for nearly 12 years, while Russia systematically ignores its international obligations.

2. Conditions of detention are systematically abusive: torture, starvation, denial of medical care, and physical and sexual violence are not isolated incidents but a coordinated practice; according to the UN, more than 95% of Ukrainian prisoners of war have been subjected to torture.

3. Russia is illegally detaining approximately 16,000 Ukrainian civilians, sentencing them to long prison terms on fabricated charges, in blatant violation of international humanitarian law.

4. A particularly grave crime concerns Ukrainian children: forced transfers and deportations, changes of citizenship, illegal adoptions, and at least 165 so-called “re-education camps” where children are subjected to militarisation and Russification; the return of all prisoners and children is a mandatory prerequisite for any real peace.

Full text: https://shorturl.at/YMyBe