About 700 Ukrainian servicemen and more than a thousand civilians are currently in russian captivity.
This was announced on a telethon by Deputy Prime Minister - Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk, UkrInform reports.
More than a thousand civilians are captured by the russians, more than five hundred are women. We will not exchange the military for civilians, as this is prohibited by the Geneva Convention. We demand the unconditional release of our civilians. As for the number of prisoners, we have an approximate parity: we have about 700 of their prisoners of war and they have about 700 of our soldiers," Vereshchuk said.
The Deputy Prime Minister emphasizes that the russians do not fully comply with the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners. The russians exchange prisoners selectively and do not pay attention to the lists provided by the Ukrainian side. Despite this, Vereshchuk calls on all relatives of the prisoners to gain patience and strength.
On April 15, prisoners were exchanged near Posad-Pokrovske village (the Kherson region).
Also, on April 14, an exchange of prisoners with russia took place. Ukraine managed to return 30 people, including 8 civilians.