Key facts
- Russia has published a list of 224 Ukrainian prisoners of war it is prepared to exchange.
- Moscow claims Kyiv has rejected the proposed swap, accusing Ukraine of hindering exchange efforts.
- Ukraine's human rights commissioner denied the accusation, stating Ukraine is committed to returning all its citizens.
- A UN report indicated widespread torture of Ukrainian POWs by Russia and, to a lesser extent, of Russian POWs by Ukraine.
Russia's human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova, released a list of 224 Ukrainian prisoners of war, stating Moscow is ready for an exchange but that Kyiv has rejected the offer. This comes amid a dispute over which side is impeding prisoner swap efforts.
Thousands of prisoners have been exchanged since the full-scale war began in February 2022. A May agreement to swap 1,000 captives each was a significant outcome of U.S.-brokered negotiations. Despite subsequent exchanges, a Ukrainian government-backed project accused Moscow on Monday of excluding POWs from Russian-held territories in Ukraine from exchange lists.