The occupiers now hold about 700 soldiers and more than a thousand civilians – Vereshchuk
About 700 Ukrainian soldiers are being held captive by the Russian occupiers. Russia also holds more than a thousand civilians, most of them women.
This was announced by the Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk on the air of the information telethon.
– As for the military, we have, in principle, an approximate parity: we have more than 700 of their prisoners, and they have about the same number,- she said.
According to Vereshchuk, the situation is complicated by the fact that the Russian military is also taking civilians hostage in the occupied territories. Yes, they have already captured more than a thousand civilians, about 500 of them women.
– We will not exchange the military for civilians – this is prohibited by the Geneva Conventions. We will not violate international humanitarian law and therefore we demand to release civilians without any conditions and hand over civilians to the Ukrainian side, – the Minister emphasized.
She also stressed that the Russian Federation did not completely comply with the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, exchanged prisoners selectively and did not pay attention to the lists provided by the Ukrainian side.
