Ombudsman: 800 severely wounded Ukrainian POWs are held in Russia

Dmytro Lubinets, the chairperson of Ukraine's Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, told RFE/RL that 800 severely wounded Ukrainian servicemen are held as prisoners of war (POW) in Russia.

According to Lubinets, 200 severely wounded Russian POWs are held in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s and Russia’s ombudsmen earlier discussed the “repatriation” of the wounded POWs without any conditions, Lubinets said.

Russia and Ukraine have agreed on an exchange of 40 prisoners of war, Russia's Human Rights Ombudsman Tatiana Moskalkova said on Jan. 11.

Lubinets and Moskalkova met in Turkey on Jan. 11.

However, Russia canceled a POWs swap with Ukraine scheduled on Jan. 14 amid its 10th mass missile attack, Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said.

Russia reportedly rejected to go through with the exchange “at the last minute.”