Russia accused Ukraine of suspending the exchange of prisoners of war (POW) for several months. In this way, the Kremlin is trying to stir up discontent in Ukrainian society and distract the West from supporting Ukraine.
How Russia uses POW exchange
It is noted that Tatyana Moskalkova, the Russian Ombudsman, accused Ukraine of putting forward "far-fetched demands" that provoked a pause in the exchange of prisoners of war over the past few months. She also added that Russia is doing everything possible to maintain a dialogue with the Ukrainian government and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on the issue of prisoners of war.
At the same time, in November 2023, the representative of the Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Petro Yatsenko, noted that Russia had already suspended the exchange of prisoners of war in the summer of 2023 for an unknown reason.
On May 29, Radio Svoboda noted that Ukraine was forced to open a third camp for Russian prisoners of war, partly because of the "effective blocking of exchanges by the Russian side" and partly because of the growing number of Russian deserters who become prisoners of war. This is consistent with several recent statements by Ukrainian officials that Russian officials oppose the continued exchange of prisoners of war.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) report also notes that in the past few months, since the last exchange in February, Russia has committed a series of abuses against Ukrainian prisoners. In particular, there were recorded executions without trial and investigation and the use of prisoners of war as human shields on the battlefield, both of which are violations of the Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War. The operation of a "black market" for the sale of Ukrainian prisoners of war to Russian paramilitary groups was also recorded.
In addition, the report says, Russia is using a battalion made up mostly of Ukrainian prisoners of war to conduct hostilities in Ukraine, another flagrant violation of the Geneva Convention.
ISW suggests that Moskalkova's accusation that Ukraine is the party responsible for ending the exchange may be an attempt to rhetorically shift the blame to Kyiv and cover up the aggressor's many well-documented abuses of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
This can inflame discontent in Ukrainian society and divert attention from Western countries' support for Ukraine. The Kremlin appears to be using the prisoner-of-war exchange policy as another rhetorical device to undermine decision-making in Ukraine, the ISW report said.
POW exchange between Ukraine and Russia
We will remind you that on January 3, 2024, the largest exchange of prisoners since the beginning of the full-scale war took place, when 230 defenders returned home.
The last exchange of prisoners of war between Ukraine and the Russian Federation took place on February 8, 2024 in the format of 100 for 100 with the assistance of the United Arab Emirates. At that time, 49 soldiers of the National Guard of Ukraine, 25 border guards and 26 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including 11 soldiers of the Territorial Defence Forces, returned to the Motherland. At least 28 freedmen were wounded or seriously ill.
On January 24, Ukraine and Russia planned to hold the 50th exchange of prisoners, but it was interrupted due to the downing of the Il-76 plane near Belgorod. The aborted POW exchange was to be one of the largest during the war.
Meanwhile, more than 400 Ukrainian women are in Russian captivity, most of them civilians.
