Ukraine's parliament speaker tells Vatican Secretary of State about torture of Ukrainian POWs

Stefanchuk posted this on Facebook on July 22.

The speaker of the Ukrainian parliament thanked the Holy See for the humanitarian aid that has been coming through various channels since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, as well as for participating in the Peace Summit.

"During the meeting, we discussed the importance of implementing the Peace Formula of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Much attention was paid to the issue of the return of deported Ukrainian children and prisoners," Stefanchuk wrote.

He told Parolin about the conditions in which Ukrainian prisoners of war in the Russian Federation are held.

"I especially stressed that Ukraine creates proper conditions for Russian prisoners of war, unlike Russia. The Ukrainian citizens who were returned were subjected to torture and ill-treatment in Russian captivity," Stefanchuk said in a statement.

"I stressed that Russia does not agree to the establishment of a Joint Medical Commission to objectively determine the medical condition of Ukrainian prisoners of war. I called on the Holy See to make every effort to change Russia's position on the issue of establishing a relevant medical commission," the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada added.

• On June 25, a prisoner exchange took place, as a result of which Ukraine returned 90 more people from Russian captivity.
• On July 9, Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said that he did not believe in the exchange of prisoners under the "all for all" formula in the near future, as he did not see Russia's readiness for it.