Seven civilians illegally held by Russia since 2022 have returned to Ukraine. According to Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, many of them have severe injuries and signs of torture.
Details of the release were reported by Ukraine’s Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets.
According to him, the civilians had been held without legal grounds, without trial or investigation, after being effectively abducted by Russian forces.
Lubinets said the process of their return was complex and took place within a separate negotiation track involving the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Humanitarian communication was also conducted with Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova.
Most of those released are young men born in the 2000s, residents of Kharkiv, Kyiv, Kherson and Donetsk regions. All of them had been held in captivity since 2022.
According to the ombudsman, civilians were unlawfully taken from their homes or detained at checkpoints. One of them was abducted while on his way to visit his father.
The released civilians are in a serious psychological condition and have injuries and illnesses. In particular, one of them is in critical condition, diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, internal organ damage and burns sustained as a result of torture.
Lubinets stressed that such actions constitute a direct violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.
He also said he spoke with the released individuals and heard their accounts of years in captivity, weight loss and living in conditions of uncertainty.
The men managed to call their families — it was a long-awaited reunion on the eve of Easter.
Dmytro Lubinets added that efforts to return unlawfully detained civilians are ongoing.