Ukraine declared that it handed over all seriously wounded prisoners to Russia

Ukraine has handed over all seriously wounded prisoners to Russia, the Coordinating Headquarters for Prisoner of War Work said. Moscow has not yet commented on this information.

According to the headquarters, this was not an exchange, but a repatriation. All the wounded, whose condition allowed transportation, were returned to Russia unconditionally. The headquarters clarified that five people were transferred.

According to the norms of international law, seriously wounded and seriously ill prisoners are not subject to exchange, they must be evacuated to their country for treatment.

“At the same time, the aggressor state, systematically disregarding international norms, is still holding thousands of Ukrainian citizens hostage, including the seriously ill and wounded, civilians, children and women, the elderly, as well as those captured by Russia even before the beginning of the large-scale invasion. All these categories of citizens, according to international humanitarian law, must be returned to Ukraine by repatriation without any conditions,” the coordination headquarters said.

• On March 7, Ukraine and Russia held another exchange of prisoners of war, as a result of which 130 Ukrainians and 90 Russians returned home. Ukraine returned servicemen of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, border guards, and soldiers of the National Guard. Of the 130 Ukrainians returned from captivity, four are women. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation confirmed the return of 90 Russians from captivity. All of them, according to the information of the military department, will be provided with the necessary medical assistance in the medical facilities of the Ministry of Defense.