Ukraine calls on Russia to release all detained civilians over 70 years old - Ombudsman Lubinets

Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets shared the information on Espreso TV.

"The results of the meeting with the Russian Ombudsman. First of all, the Russian side answered my specific questions for the first time. Out of 300 people who went missing (we were more likely to believe that they had died), 23 people from the list were found by the Russian side and confirmed to be alive and in captivity," he said.

Lubinets added that for the first time they considered the procedure of repatriation of injured prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention.  

"Now, according to the convention, prisoners of war are being exchanged. There is a separate provision for the injured, especially the severely injured. In this case, the repatriation procedure - the return of seriously injured prisoners of war - is carried out. This is not an exchange, the number does not matter, only meeting the criteria of a seriously injured person. For the first time, the Russian side agreed to consider this procedure," the ombudsman emphasized.

He added that the parties exchanged lists of seriously injured.

"Next, for the first time we discussed the issue of civilians in detail. The number of those who have officially appealed to me, relatives of civilians held by the Russian Federation, is about 20,000. We provided the first list. We put forward a proposal for the Russian side to consider. These are people who are over 70 years old and seriously ill over the age of 65. This is almost 2,000 people. This is only 10%, and I don't know what the result will be, but at least Russia has agreed to accept it," Lubinets summarized.