The number of Ukrainian prisoners of war still being held in Russian captivity is lower than the number of defenders who have already been returned to Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets said this in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, according to Ukrinform citing his Telegram channel.
“The number of prisoners of war who remain in Russian captivity is smaller than the number of those whom we have brought back from Russian captivity,” he said.
Lubinets did not disclose the exact number of Ukrainian POWs, emphasizing that the Russian side does not know the precise number of Russian servicemen held in Ukrainian captivity. At the same time, Ukrainian authorities do not publicly disclose the number of Ukrainians being held by Russia.
The Ombudsman also reported that, according to Ukraine’s Register of Missing Persons, 16,000 civilians are considered missing in the temporarily occupied territories.
