Displaying items by tag: prisoners of war

On 31 January, Russia and Ukraine conducted a prisoner exchange. Russia claimed that each side received 195 soldiers, but Volodymyr Zelensky said that 207 Ukrainian soldiers had been returned. This was the 50th exchange since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the first such swap since the recent plane crash which Russia claimed had 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war on board. There are continuing doubts in Kyiv regarding this assertion, especially because no photographs have been released showing dozens of dead bodies. Both sides have called for an international investigation, and the details of the incident remain unverified. In another development, the International Court of Justice has ruled that Russia violated terrorism and anti-discrimination treaties: see

Russia has accused Ukraine of shooting down a military transport plane carrying 74 people, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, on a flight to Belgorod in southern Russia, where a prisoner exchange was planned. However, the exact details and the cause of the crash (on 24 January) remain unverified by independent sources. The ongoing conflict, now nearing its two-year mark, has been marked by mutual accusations and disputes. The Russian defence ministry stated that the Ilyushin Il-76 plane was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile system, leading to the deaths of six crew members, 65 Ukrainian military personnel, and three Russian military personnel accompanying them. In response, Ukraine's military acknowledged the planned prisoner exchange, but said they lacked reliable information about the plane's passengers. They asserted that they had fulfilled their obligations and ensured the safety of captured Russian servicemen who were supposed to be part of the exchange.

A Kentish dog trainer, a Cornish farmer, and a Sussex executive are helping the elderly and frail to evacuate from dangerous areas in Ukraine. They fund themselves. ‘I know my parents worry’, said the dog trainer, ‘but they are proud of what I do.’ She has done a trauma first aid course, and is learning on the job. They travel to communities in the path of Russian forces. Shelling is a constant threat. Pray for God’s protection and strength to all who are helping the helpless in Ukraine. In April Russians captured Aiden and Shaun, Britons serving with Ukraine’s military. Russia’s foreign ministry said, ‘Don't worry, Russia is taking care of them’. Then on 9 June a court (not internationally recognised) in an area held by pro-Russian separatists sentenced them to death on the charge of being mercenaries. The men insist they have been in Ukraine since 2018, serving with Ukraine's military and entitled to prisoner-of-war protection. A Moroccan national was also condemned.

Russian soldiers speaking in videos posted to the Ukraine security services' Facebook page warned, 'We're killing peaceful people'. An injured soldier sitting in front of a Ukrainian flag said, 'This is not our war. Mothers and wives, collect your husbands. There is no need to be here’. Other footage shows a handcuffed Russian prisoner crying over the death and destruction wrought by the war, saying, 'They don't even pick up the corpses, there are no funerals'. At least one of the soldiers urged Kyiv and Moscow to evacuate children from the warzone while another warned, 'No-one wants war'. Six days after Moscow ordered its forces into Ukraine, a Russian soldier texted home telling his mother, ‘All I want now is to kill myself. We were sent as cannon fodder.’ Weeping Russian POWs say they had no idea they were being sent to war, and said they were made 'to attack people defending their territory'.