Russian military personnel held captive in Ukraine will be allowed to call home under certain conditions.
This was announced by the government representative in the Verkhovna Rada, Taras Melnychuk.
According to him, the Cabinet of Ministers has made changes to the Procedure for Detaining Prisoners of War. Now Russian soldiers will be able to communicate remotely with their relatives if they agree with the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. At the same time, the camp must be equipped with appropriate software. This is IP telephony, that is, an Internet call — for example, via video call.
Russian prisoners of war suspected or accused of crimes must not only coordinate communication with their relatives with the Coordination Headquarters, but also obtain written permission from the investigator, prosecutor, or court as part of criminal proceedings.
What preceded
In April 2024, a petition on the Cabinet of Ministersʼ website to ban Russian prisoners from making calls received the necessary number of votes for consideration.
The petitioner explained the initiative by saying that the Russians had long banned calls to Ukrainian prisoners. She proposed introducing similar measures until Russia allows Ukrainians to make regular phone calls.
However, the government rejected the idea. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal explained that telephone conversations serve an important informative function. With this, Russians receive information that they should not be afraid to surrender, since Ukraine complies with all the provisions of the Convention and provides proper conditions for the detention of prisoners of war.
In September last year, Ukraine nevertheless banned Russian prisoners of war from making phone calls due to an increase in the number of cases of ill-treatment of Ukrainian prisoners.
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