Photos show protests in Ukraine as prisoners of war held in Russia are being used to sow distrust of Kyiv, official says
- Families of Ukrainian POWs have held protests urging Kyiv to remain committed to their release.
- A Ukrainian official said they believe Russia is purposefully using POWs to sow unrest.
Families of Ukrainian prisoners of war held in Russia have staged protests in several cities urging the government to work on their release. According to a new report, Russia may be purposefully using the POWs to foment distrust of Kyiv.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been taken as prisoners of war. Some 4,000 are still being held months after they were taken, with nearly half of them being captured last year while trying to defend Mariupol in southern Ukraine, CNBC reported.
A Ukrainian official told Politico that some families have received calls from their loved ones held in Russia that appear to be aimed at sowing unrest back home.
"A person has not heard from a relative for more than a year, and here he calls and says that he is alive. Russians are ready to exchange him, but Ukraine does nothing," Petro Yatsenko, spokesperson for Ukraine staff dealing with prisoners of war, told the outlet. "Recently these calls became massive. So, we understood that this is a campaign to cause distrust in the government."
The wife of a Ukrainian POW held in Russia told Politico she recently heard from her husband, who was captured on February 24, 2022, the first day of the invasion. Despite barely hearing word of her husband, she received a video call from him in November.
"It was Serhii. We talked only for three minutes. I was not allowed to ask him questions. As soon as I tried, he shook his head and just said no," Valentyna Tkachenko told Politico. "Instead, he kept saying: 'Valya, go make things hard for Kyiv. Kyiv does not want to take us back,'" Tkachenko recalled. "Then he said he was sorry and ended the call, promising to call me back if he ever has a chance."
Tkachenko did not join protests, but other family members and friends of Ukrainian POWs have recently held demonstrations as prisoner swaps between Russia and Ukraine have slowed, CNBC reported.
The New York Times reported in October that Ukrainian families were staging protests "in a rare show of public criticism in wartime" in which they called on the government to release more information on the status of POWs.
Protesters in Lyiv on December 26 held a "Second Christmas In Captivity" demonstration to support the defenders of Mariupol, who have been prisoners of Russia since the first year of the war.
In Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on December 24 a demonstration for prisoners of war took place with the slogan "Don't be silent! Captivity kills!"
"Our guys are being tortured. We need exchanges. Our enemy is not noble: They do not observe any conventions," Olha Plechunshe, organizer of the event, told Radio Free Europe.
And in Kyiv on December 23, protesters placed photographs of 80 Mariupol defenders who are still being held in Russian captivity.
According to the Ukrainian military, 2,598 POWs have been returned, but the last known prisoner swap was in August.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week the lack of swaps was due to unspecified "reasons" by the Russians, but that he hopes they will resume soon.
Russia has also been reported to be using Ukrainian POWs to fight against their own homeland. Drone footage released by Ukraine this month also appeared to show Russian soldiers using Ukrainian POWs as human shields.