Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of preventing the exchange of prisoners of war

MOSCOW – Kyiv on Sunday called on Moscow to provide a list of Ukrainian prisoners of war ready for exchange after Russia accused Ukraine of sabotaging the exchange process.

Having requested a list of Ukrainians from his Russian counterpart, Ukrainian Commissioner for Human Rights Dmitry Lubinets wrote in his Telegram channel: “We are always ready to exchange prisoners of war!”

Kyiv and Moscow have frequently exchanged prisoners since Russia’s full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbor in 2022. The last exchange took place in mid-October, when each side brought home 95 prisoners.

On Saturday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Ukraine was essentially sabotaging the process and refusing to take back its citizens.

Zakharova said the Russian Defense Ministry offered to hand over 935 Ukrainian prisoners of war, but Ukraine took only 279.

Lubinets, in turn, said that Ukraine is always ready to accept its citizens and accused Russia of slowing down the exchange process.

Russia’s human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova said on Saturday that Ukraine had “politicized” the issue.

“We consider it necessary to return to a constructive dialogue and speed up the exchange of prisoners,” Moskalkova wrote on Telegram. REUTERS