Russia holding more than 16,000 Ukrainian civilians captive – commissioner

Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets said this during his visit to Zaporizhzhia, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"We have a separate list, and according to preliminary data, more than 16,000 Ukrainian civilians are being held in Russian prisons," the ombudsman said.

He also recalled that international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions do not allow for the exchange of civilian prisoners for prisoners of war.

"This exchange procedure is reserved exclusively for prisoners of war. However, we have managed to release 168 civilians. While this number is small, there is a mechanism in place for such releases. The Ukrainian side, including the negotiating team, is doing everything possible to bring everyone, including journalists, back from Russian captivity," Lubinets said.

He noted that a separate list exists for journalists held captive by Russian forces, stating that the enemy is detaining, torturing, and killing journalists to silence media representatives in the temporarily occupied areas.

He also raised the issue of the Russian side not yet handing over the body of deceased Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna.

"The Russian side officially informed her father [about her death] and even sent a death certificate. However, when I raised the issue of transferring her body for proper burial, consultations are still ongoing," Lubinets said.

The list of captured Ukrainian journalists includes at least three from Melitopol: Anastasiia Hlukhovska, Iryna Levchenko, and Heorhii Levchenko.

The death of journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna was reported on October 10, though the circumstances remain unclear. She disappeared last August while traveling in territories temporarily occupied by Russia. Human rights activists have stated that she was held in two of Russia's most brutal prisons.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that 3,935 Ukrainians, including 3,767 soldiers and 168 civilians, had been returned from Russian captivity since the beginning of the full-scale war.