Ukrainian Ombudsman explains that humanitarian corridor for seriously wounded POWs is not exchange

However, Russia does not agree to conduct a prisoner exchange based on the "all for all" formula and give Ukraine the wounded, said Dmytro Lubinets, the Ombudsman, in an interview with Suspilne.

"If such an exchange depended only on us, we would have done it long ago. The first initiative in this regard was to exchange everyone for everyone of the same category. Because when we adopt the Geneva Conventions, there is a certain priority: first, women prisoners of war are returned, then the wounded. There are constant calls from Ukraine to exchange all for all, for example, the wounded. But they do not want to do this," the human rights commissioner said.

According to him, it is for this reason that the idea of creating a humanitarian corridor arose. Its essence is that it is not an exchange, but repatriation, i.e. return without reference to the number.

"This is not an exchange. An exchange can take place all for all. And if we are tied to the number, again, the Russian side will demand: they return the same number of people they get. There are more seriously wounded Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russia than there are seriously wounded Russian prisoners of war in Ukraine. That is why we are not proposing an exchange, but repatriation, i.e. return. In this sense, there is no reference to the number," Lubinets explained.

He noted that the biggest problem now is the return of the defenders of Mariupol, whom Russia categorically does not want to give back.

• Turkey has initiated the creation of a humanitarian corridor for prisoners of war, noting that it is ready to accept and treat them.