Ukraine hands over all seriously injured POWs allowed to be transported to Russia

The relevant statement was made by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Adhering to international obligations, in accordance with Articles 109-114 of the Geneva Conventions and with the involvement of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Ukraine unilaterally transferred seriously wounded and seriously ill prisoners of war to the Russian side.

“In this case, this is not about the exchange of prisoners of war but repatriation: returning the severely wounded prisoners without any conditions, as stipulated by international humanitarian law,” the report states.

At the same time, Russia, systematically disregarding international norms, is still holding thousands of Ukrainian citizens hostage, including the seriously ill and wounded, civilians, children and women, the elderly, as well as those who were captured by Russia even before the start of the full-scale invasion. According to international humanitarian law, all these categories of citizens must be returned to Ukraine via repatriation without any conditions.

Nevertheless, Russia not only continues to hold civilians and non-combatants hostage, but also refuses to allow representatives of the ICRC into their places of detention, does not allow them to keep in touch with their relatives, does not provide them with proper food and medical care, deliberately creating the inhumane conditions of captivity.

Ukraine is calling on the global community to increase pressure on Russia to force it to comply with international humanitarian law and release all illegally detained Ukrainian citizens.

Photo: Ukrainian State Border Guard Service, illustrative