Ukrainian defenders lose up to 60 kg of weight in Russian captivity – Yermak

Head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak said this in Dmytro Komarov's project "A Year. Behind scenes. President’s Office", Ukrinform reports.

"You personally attended one of the exchanges and saw the condition in which our heroes return... There were several people who lost up to 60 kg there, the minimum was 30 kg. They [Russians] even returned [captives] in the evening, thinking that we might not have seen their condition," Yermak said.

He emphasized that Ukraine’s priority is the "all for all" exchange of captives, however, the current realities show that it will be very difficult to do so.

At the same time, the Head of the President’s Office expressed disappointment with the work of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

"In no way did they [ICRC representatives] get to any of our prisoners. They tell us that they cannot visit them because the Russians do not give permission. Without even choosing words, I asked, if it was during World War II, would you ask Hitler saying that you could not get to Auschwitz, what would you tell me?! They drop their eyes, keep silent, start talking about mandates, and so on," Yermak shared.

At the same time, he noted that Olenivka penal facility and other places where the Russians hold Ukrainian prisoners are absolute concentration camps.

As reported, according to some estimates, Russia holds more than 27,000 Ukrainian civilians captive in its territory.

Photo: SBU