Ukrainian ombudsman denies Russian claim that Kyiv refuses to take back prisoners of war
The Facts
- A Russian representative published lists of Ukrainian prisoners of war whom Ukraine allegedly refuses to take back, Lubinets said.
- Lubinets said the lists appeared about 20 minutes before his press conference at Ukrinform.
- Lubinets said Ukraine has never refused any Ukrainian prisoner of war, civilian hostage or child.
- Lubinets said Ukraine sends an official request and states its readiness to collect people after each list is published.
- Lubinets said Russia responds with lengthy approval procedures that delay the return of prisoners.
- Lubinets described the publication of the lists as part of a Russian information campaign to discredit Ukraine.
- Ukraine has verified the deaths of 375 prisoners of war and civilian detainees in Russian captivity, Lubinets said.
- Lubinets said Russia handed over the bodies of those 375 Ukrainian citizens.
- Lubinets said 95% of Ukrainian prisoners of war were subjected to systematic torture in Russian prisons.
- Lubinets said at least 345 Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered were killed on the battlefield since February 2022.
Context
What exactly did the Russian side say, and is its version reflected in these reports?
The available reports describe only that a Russian representative published lists of Ukrainian prisoners of war and asserted that Kyiv refuses to accept them УКРІНФОРМ,ТСН.ua,ZAXID.NET. The reports do not name that representative or reproduce the Russian argument in detail; all substantive detail comes from Lubinets's press conference in Kyiv Українська …,5 канал.
What is the current state of prisoner exchanges?
Asked by UNIAN about a pause in exchanges after June, Lubinets said Russia constantly delays them and that he could not say negotiations or returns were suspended УНІАН. He noted that seven Ukrainian civilians were returned from Russia on 27 June УНІАН. Lubinets also confirmed talks on a separate list covering 28 Ukrainian journalists held as civilian detainees OBOZREVATEL.
What did Lubinets mean by "Moscow conventions"?
Lubinets used the phrase to describe what he called a Russian system in which torture, humiliation and unlawful sentences function as instruments of war РБК-Украина,ZAXID.NET. He said it is not a legal term but a label for Russian practice in handling Ukrainian detainees РБК-Украина.
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
- Where Left and Right agree
- Both reads accept Lubinets's account without qualification: the lists dropped twenty minutes before he spoke, Ukraine refused no one, and 375 died in captivity.
- Where Left and Right split
- Whether the story is about captured people being turned into messaging material, or about a humanitarian promise judged solely by whether the living actually come home.
How left and right read it
Captured people are not messaging material — their return is a humanitarian obligation, not a talking point. Yet lists of prisoners Ukraine supposedly refuses surfaced roughly twenty minutes before Lubinets spoke, which is why he called the publication an information campaign to discredit Ukraine, insisting no prisoner, civilian hostage or child has ever been refused. Meanwhile 375 died in captivity. Who answers for the delay?
Words about humanitarian exchange are worth nothing without performance, and performance is measured by whether people actually come home. Ukraine files an official request and states its readiness to collect people after each list is published, yet the response is lengthy approval procedures that delay returns — with lists surfacing barely twenty minutes before Lubinets spoke, which he called part of an information campaign to discredit Ukraine. Judge by delivery: 375 verified deaths in captivity, and bodies rather than the living handed over.
The receipts — all 59 sources
Independent coverage (50)
Facts first. Then every angle.
The day’s biggest stories in one short brief — the facts everyone agrees on, then the competing values behind the headlines. Free in your inbox.