Europe must force Russia to stop torture for Ukrainian hostages to live to see their return - Coordination Center
This is the main message to all European institutions, Petro Yatsenko, head of the press service of the Coordination Headquarters for Prisoners of War, told Ukrinform in Strasbourg.
"We are saying here that our people must first of all save their lives and health before the exchange," he emphasized.
According to Yatsenko, this is a minimum program, and it is necessary to spread information in the world about the treatment of prisoners by Russians, as evidenced by all those who managed to survive in Russian prisons and camps.
"This is now our main message to Europe. Russia should be forced to stop torture and comply with the Geneva Conventions, because all those who return, you can see the condition they are in. All prisoners must live to see their release so that their health is not undermined," said Yatsenko.
In Strasbourg, a representative of the coordination headquarters also met with the President of the PACE Theodoros Rousopolous and members of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. During the meeting, it was emphasized that the European community should actively exert pressure and demand that the aggressor country stop its inhumane treatment of Ukrainian citizens by strengthening sanctions against Russia. "They should clearly say that torture in captivity and non-compliance with the Geneva Convention are unacceptable. They should also increase diplomatic and economic pressure on the Russian Federation," emphasized Yatsenko.
According to the head of the press service, the International Red Cross should have the same access as it has in Ukraine to all places of detention in the territory of the Russian Federation, as well as in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. No other organization has such a mandate.
"But in fact, very few of those who returned from captivity say that they saw any representatives of the Red Cross. Therefore, we believe that their presence is insufficient. And we are ready to help them with this," Yatsenko said.
According to international conventions, women, the sick, and the seriously wounded should be returned first. However, the Russian side "is not guided by humane principles and continues to use Ukrainian prisoners as an instrument of influence on society, on families, on loved ones." Russia is also blocking the return of the Azov unit fighters.
The Coordination Center also reminds that many people whose names appeared in the lists of missing persons in Ukraine are returning home, so there is great hope that these lists will also be reduced.
As reported by Ukrinform, during the full-scale war, Ukraine managed to release 3,135 people from Russian captivity, about a third of whom were registered as missing in our country.
