Ukraine reveals number of soldiers held as POWs in Russia

Deputy Head of the President’s Office Iryna Vereshchuk reported the information, citing data from Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, according to Espreso correspondent Diana Poliova.

“We have around 8,000 confirmed in captivity, but there are cases where soldiers are being held and we don't know about it. In every exchange, people come back who Russia never officially confirmed. So we’re seeing about a 10–20% gap where Russia denies holding them but still hands them over,” Vereshchuk said.

She noted this gives hope to families of those listed as "missing in action." She also reported that 2,000 confirmed Ukrainian civilians are currently in Russian custody.

Vereshchuk addressed the idea of an “all-for-all” prisoner swap: “You know who we’re dealing with on the other side. You can’t trust them. But even so, we’re preparing. We’re preparing to bring our children home. We understand that international pressure is working. Thousands of people are working across different platforms, meeting with European leaders, and that effort is paying off.”

She added that Ukraine has documented cases where Russia is falsely classifying Ukrainian civilians as military prisoners.
“On our side, we list them as civilians, because that’s what they are—they weren’t in the military and were simply at home or at work when the full-scale invasion began. These are thousands of our people who should not be part of exchanges—they must be returned unconditionally. But Russia labels them as soldiers, which is why the ‘all-for-all’ exchange is so important to us,” she said.

• In over three years of full-scale war, Ukraine has managed to return 4,306 defenders and civilians from Russian captivity.