Ukrainian special services have launched the state project "Hochu k svoiim” [“I want to return to my people”], the purpose of which is to promote the exchange of captured Ukrainians for traitors, collaborators and agents of Russia.
The project was presented today, July 25, by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, which includes the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR), the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), and the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights.
The first and main task of the project is to publish information about convicted Russian agents, traitors and collaborators who cooperated or helped the Russian occupation forces.
Their data will be on the project website, which will be constantly updated. Convicts voluntarily agreed to the publication of their data and are ready to share. The site will also have a "consent to exchange" option.
Among other tasks of the project:
- to give an opportunity to citizens of Ukraine who are still cooperating with the enemy to stop this activity under certain conditions;
- give an opportunity to citizens of Ukraine who have some information about the activities of enemy agents to share it with the project;
- to help citizens who wish to leave Ukraine to Russia to do so.
According to SBU spokesman Artem Dekhtyarenko, since the beginning of the full-scale war, 3 405 Ukrainians have been returned from captivity by the Russians. More than 7 400 criminal proceedings for collaborationism have been opened to date, so the exchange fund is quite large, but there are a number of difficulties — Russia is in no hurry to pick up its agents, and the return of Ukrainian civilians is extremely difficult, since there is no clearly defined mechanism.