Russia has attempted to exchange Ukrainian civilians for their soldiers, which is prohibited by the Geneva Conventions, reports Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister, according to BBC Russia.
Her office which is responsible for captives exchange has turned down such conditions and demanded that all civilian prisoners be returned to Ukraine. There is evidence that Russia has forcibly displaced hundreds of civilians since the war had started, Vereshchuk stated.
“We know that they have taken more than a thousand people hostage out there, including almost five hundred women. They were put in jails and detention centres in Kursk, Bryansk, Ryazan and Rostov-on-Don,” she added.
Nine civilians returned to Ukraine from Russia recently, some of them had their limbs amputated. “There were clear signs of torture,” Vereshchuk said. “The stories they told us were outright terrible.”
Russia is yet to comment on the matter.
45 Ukrainian citizens returned home on Thursday, 28 April, including 13 officers and 20 soldiers. The remaining 12 people were civilians. Russia did not comment on that swap as well.
