It is no accident that the third exchange of prisoners under President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has prompted a campaign on social media by family and friends of Russia’s Ukrainian political prisoners and hostages held by Russia’s Donbas proxy “republics.” Their message is clear: it is time for Mr. Zelenskyy to talk with them and discuss real measures to ensure the release of their relatives, some of whom have been in captivity for years.
Immediately after the exchange on April 16, Andriy Yermak, head of the Presidential Office of Ukraine, once again insisted that negotiations were under way for the release of all political prisoners held in occupied Crimea and Russia, and that all Ukrainians held illegally would be returned. The assurances have been heard before and, in fact, negotiations with Russia appear to be stalled.
During the most recent prisoner exchange, two POWs and 18 civilian hostages were returned to Ukraine while 17 people convicted of terrorism or treason were handed over to the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics (DPR and LPR). Although any release of Ukrainians held by the militants is surely better than none, on this occasion, the exchange prompts questions not only in regard to those who were not released.
Oksana Romanyuk, director of the Institute for Mass Information, has condemned the refusal to allow Ukrainian journalists to cover the exchange. The excuse that this was because of the pandemic is not convincing, she says, as Ukrainian legislation obliges the Cabinet of Ministers to ensure the unobstructed work of journalists. This was undoubtedly a matter of public importance, and she suspects that journalists were kept away to prevent them from asking uncomfortable questions.
Oleh Kotenko from the Patriot Group NGO called this the worst exchange he has seen in all the years of the conflict. He notes that this was the first time that an exchange was carried out without the involvement of the aggressor state, Russia, and with Ukraine effectively forced to agree to the militants’ conditions. Mr. Kotenko believes that Russia is gaining by this, because it can claim to not be a party to the conflict, with Ukraine obliging by negotiating directly with the militants.
Ukraine has consistently asked for hostages that the militants, probably prompted by Russia, have refused to free. However, this time the discrepancies between the list of hostages demanded and those handed over was dramatic.
Two weeks ago, it was the militants who simply published their list of whom they were willing to release. Mr. Kotenko is not the first person to have called this exchange a political stunt – and one that now means Ukraine is obliged to carry out further disengagement which was a condition for the exchange.
Tetyana Katrychenko from the Media Initiative for Human Rights points out that a prisoner exchange is the simplest way to show implementation of the Minsk accords and to quiet the wave of public discontent. The problem, however, is that the list of those released contained virtually none of the hostages and POWs whose release Ukraine has been demanding for years. Among those released were a few people who either had no link to the conflict or who may have collaborated with the militants, as well as those suspected of criminal offenses.
Mr. Yermak is certainly right in saying that all are Ukrainian citizens, but growing frustration is inevitable given the number of POWs and civilian hostages remaining in captivity – many of them having faced torture and appalling treatment for their pro-Ukrainian position and, probably, their actions in serving Ukraine.
None of the exchanges has ever come close to fulfilling the Minsk agreement demand for a release of “all for all.” This latest exchange, however, makes Ukraine seem weak, lacking in any leverage and unable to inspire confidence in Kyiv’s will or ability to bring home all Ukrainians held illegally by Russia or its puppet “republics.”
POWs and civilian hostages in Donbas
Although the full number is likely to be much higher, the East Ukrainian Centre for Civic Initiatives has named 50 POWs and civilian hostages, many of whom have been imprisoned for years for a pro-Ukrainian stand. (To read more about these POWs, go to http://khpg.org/index.php?id=1587252360.)