Russia says prisoner swaps with Ukraine are paused, blames Kiev

MOSCOW — Russia’s commissioner for human rights on Wednesday blamed Ukraine for a months-long pause in prisoner exchanges by the two warring sides.

“Unfortunately, swaps have been suspended for several months because of Ukraine, which constantly puts forth new contrived demands,” Tatyana Moskalova told a session of the parliament, the TASS state news agency said.

Still, officials from both countries continue to visit prisoners of war held by the other side to monitor compliance with their rights, she said.

Moskalkova did not provide any further details on Kiev’s alleged demands.

The editor-in-chief of the state-controlled broadcaster RT, Margarita Simonyan, earlier published a list of 500 captured Ukrainian soldiers. She claimed that Kiev had only selected 38 fighters from the Azov regiment – an elite unit that has been accused in the past of far-right sympathies – and rejected the rest.

Russia has been waging a war against Ukraine for more than two years and currently occupies around a fifth of the country. The exact number of prisoners of war on both sides is unknown, but according to observers, the Russians have taken several times as many prisoners as Ukraine.

The accusations from Moscow are likely aimed at destabilizing the political situation in Kiev and increasing the pressure on Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelensky has vowed to return all captured soldiers to their homeland. The last exchange between the two countries took place in February 2024.