Vice Prime Minister Vereshchuk: 2.5 thousand Ukrainians remain captives of the Russians

Several thousand Ukrainian prisoners remain in Russian captivity.

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk reported this in an interview with "BBC News Ukraine".

"We are talking about 2,500 prisoners. People remain in captivity, and worst of all, civilians remain there. Civilians have not been released for several exchanges in a row," she said.

According to Vereshchuk, Ukrainian civilians should be returned to Ukraine without being exchanged for Russian prisoners. According to her, there are many women among Ukrainian prisoners.

"Many women remain in captivity. If you consider that 131 women left Azovstal, then imagine how many women are in captivity. Only a few have returned," said the Deputy Prime Minister.

Vereshchuk added that the Russians mocked the captured Ukrainian women, beat and tortured them.

"The world should not silently watch and watch as our women are killed in prison," she emphasized.

• On the night of September 22, Ukraine exchanged prisoners with Russia. Ukraine returned 215 defenders of Mariupol, including the commanders of the "Azov" regiment, and Putinʼs godfather Viktor Medvedchuk and 55 Russian soldiers were returned to Russia.
• Heads of the Ukrainian special services later said that the exchange was delayed for almost 8 hours, but in the end, it took place simultaneously in four countries — Ukraine (on the border with the Russian Federation in the Chernihiv region), Poland (one of the stages), Turkey and Saudi Arabia.