Lubinets: 16,000 Ukrainian civilians held in Russian captivity
Currently, the Russian Federation holds more than 16,000 Ukrainian civilians in captivity, and only 168 civilians have been released.
This was stated by the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets during his visit to Zaporizhzhia, Censor.NET reports citing Ukrinform.
We have a separate list, according to which, according to preliminary data, more than 16,000 Ukrainian civilians are held in Russian prisons," the ombudsman stressed.
He also reminded that international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions do not provide for the exchange of civilian prisoners for prisoners of war.
‘This exchange procedure is only for prisoners of war, but we managed to release 168 civilians. It's a small figure, but there is a mechanism for us to do this. The Ukrainian side, the negotiating team, is doing everything to return everyone from Russian captivity, including journalists," Lubinets said.
He noted that there is also a separate list of journalists held captive by the occupiers. In his opinion, the enemy is holding journalists captive, torturing and killing them in order to "shut up the media representatives in the TOT".
At the same time, Lubinets reminded that the Russian side has not yet handed over the body of Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, who died in captivity.
"The Russian side officially informed the father, even sent a death certificate. On the other hand, when I started raising the issue of handing over the body for a proper burial, we are still continuing consultations," he said.
Victoriia Roshchyna's death in Russian captivity
On 10 October, the father of Viktoriia Roshchyna, a Ukrainian journalist and winner of the 2022 "Courage in Journalism" Award, who was held in Russian captivity, was informed of her death during a transfer from Taganrog to Moscow. The information was later confirmed by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
Viktoriia Roshchyna disappeared on 3 August 2023 in the occupied territory from where she was reporting.
In May 2024, the Russian Federation admitted for the first time that it was holding Viktoriia Roshchyna in captivity.
Russia has not yet returned the journalist's body to Ukraine.
