About 700 Ukrainian servicemen and more than a thousand civilians are currently in Russian captivity.
The Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk said this on the telethon, Ukrinform reports.
According to her, the Ukrainian side has about 700 Russian prisoners of war, the same number holds Russia. However, Russia selectively exchanges prisoners and does not pay attention to the lists provided by the Ukrainian side.
Vereshchuk stressed that Ukraine will not exchange the military for civilians, as it is prohibited by the Geneva Convention. "We demand the unconditional release of our civilians," she said.
- Since the beginning of the war, Ukraine has officially exchanged prisoners four times. The last time was on April 14 — 30 Ukrainian citizens returned home.