Despite the fact that there are many Ukrainian civilians in Russian captivity, Ukraine is unable to conduct large-scale exchanges. Petro Yatsenko, the head of the press service of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, explained to online.ua what the main problem is.
Russia is absolutely illegally detaining Ukrainian civilians
According to Petro Yatsenko, the Ukrainian government is doing everything possible to return all its citizens, but as for civilians, the word "exchange" is not appropriate.
That is, we have to catch Russian civilians somewhere and exchange them. But this is a road to nowhere. And, of course, we will not do this. But the problem is really huge. Because there are many civilians who have been captured and imprisoned by Russia.
It is important to understand that Russia has no legal basis for holding civilians in prison, but as we know, this has never stopped the enemy.
Sometimes the Russians let our civilians go, but only without documents and means of subsistence.
Accordingly, it is extremely difficult for such Ukrainians to return to their homeland.
Initially, they tried to change the proposals to exchange civilians for their military. But this is also not an option, because there are many Ukrainians living in the occupied territories. This will be an incentive for them to simply grab everyone in sight to exchange them for their own. This is absolutely not an option. And international pressure is important here.
As of 5 January 2023, Ukraine was able to release more than 140 civilians from captivity, but they were not exchanged for Russian servicemen.
And I want people to know that regardless of whether it's a soldier or a civilian who has been imprisoned by the Russians without any reason... we still know about them, we remember them and we will get them out.
Russians shoot and distribute fake videos of Ukrainian civilians
According to Roman Yatsenko, he and his team witnessed Russians allegedly releasing captured Ukrainian civilians on camera, but these people never returned home.
We understand that this video was a kind of justification for them. That is, they are absolving themselves of any responsibility. Then these people can end up in a Russian prison again. This is one of the aspects of how they behave, what they do. And this is not the worst option, let's just say. That is why publicity is very important here.
Despite this, the campaign for the release of captured Ukrainians is only gaining momentum. Foreigners and Western countries actively join it. It is important to understand that this is also an important way to put pressure on the aggressor country.
