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Yermak: Russia has deported about 3m Ukrainians, including 12,000 children

Several thousand more are in captivity.

Yermak: Russia has deported about 3m Ukrainians, including 12,000 children
Photo: Yermak's press service

One of the conditions to ending the war is the release of Ukrainian prisoners and deportees by Russia, the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, has said in an interview with The Economist.

Almost 3m Ukrainian citizens, including over 12,000 children, have forcibly been deported to territories controlled by the Russian government. They all must be allowed freely to return home. Thousands more are held captive.

"We are ready to carry out a prisoner swap according to the 'all for all' formula, whereby all prisoners held on both sides are returned to their original home," he said.

The other humanitarian condition is the need for justice. This means the trial and conviction of those guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as compensation for damages caused by Russian aggression.

"A special tribunal must be set up to punish those guilty of the crime of aggression who cannot be reached by the International Criminal Court and other existing international judicial institutions. To make Russia pay financially for the restoration of Ukraine, we have also initiated the creation of a compensation mechanism at the UN," Yermak added.

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