Ukraine opens channel with Russia on fate of citizens in occupied areas

Ukraine’s Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said this in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

"The Ombudsman's Office is taking all possible measures to establish the fate of Ukrainian citizens who are in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine and in the Russian Federation. We have established a negotiation channel with the Russian side - the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, Tatyana Moskalkova, and reached agreements on the exchange of information about such persons," he noted.

The Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights emphasized that as of today, this is the only functioning humanitarian channel for negotiations with the Russian side.

"In accordance with the requirements of the Law of Ukraine "On the Protection of Personal Data", in order to send a relevant letter, it is necessary to add documents confirming the relationship to the application, as well as to provide consent to the processing of personal data," Lubinets explained.

• Earlier, the Ombudsman warned that Russia is using pseudo-charitable foundations to discredit Ukrainian state institutions and disrupt the process of returning children from occupation.