Ukraine carried out a humanitarian action and handed over all seriously wounded occupants to Russia. This happened in accordance with the Geneva Conventions and without any conditions.
This is reported by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
It was noted there that Ukraine handed over to the Russian Federation all those seriously wounded occupiers whose condition permitted transportation.
"According to international obligations, in accordance with Articles 109-114 of the Geneva Conventions and with the participation of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Ukraine unilaterally transferred severely wounded and seriously ill captives of the occupiers to the Russian side. In this case, it is not about the exchange of prisoners of war, but rather about repatriation: the return of severely wounded prisoners without any conditions, as stipulated by international humanitarian law," they noted.
At the same time, Ukraine emphasized that Russia continues to disregard international norms and is still holding thousands of Ukrainians hostage, including the seriously ill and wounded, civilians, children, women, pensioners, as well as political prisoners who were detained even before the start of the full-scale invasion.
"All these categories of citizens, according to international humanitarian law, should be returned to Ukraine by repatriation without any conditions. Despite this, Russia not only continues to hold civilians and non-combatants hostage, but also refuses to allow representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross to their places of detention, does not provide them with contact with relatives, proper nutrition, medical care, deliberately creating inhumane conditions of captivity ", the headquarters stated.
- The day before, Ukraine managed to bring home the bodies of 83 dead Ukrainian soldiers. Since the beginning of the invasion and as of March 3, the special staff conducted 38 exchanges and freed 1 863 Ukrainians from Russian captivity.