“Ukraine has fully completed its part of the work and had long ago handed over the compiled lists to the russian side… The delay is happening solely because of the position of the russian federation”, - said Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets during the national telethon.
According to him, the lists were prepared jointly with the Coordination Headquarters with mediation from the United States. The main selection criteria were the length of time spent in captivity, as well as the presence of severe injuries or illnesses among Ukrainian prisoners of war.
The Ombudsman emphasized that russian narratives claiming Ukraine refused the exchange or is delaying it are an absolute lie. It is russia that is deliberately slowing down the coordination of the processes, he concluded.
As reported, on May 9 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the Coordination Headquarters had handed over to the russian side the lists of one thousand people for the prisoner of war exchange.