Ukraine, Russia agree to 'start from scratch' on POW lists after ombudsmen meet in Belarus

Ukraine and Russia will begin verifying all lists of prisoners of war (POWs) and civilian hostages, Ukrainian Human Rights Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on June 6, following talks with his newly appointed Russian counterpart, Yana Lantratova.

The June 5 meeting marks the start of a new phase of communication on prisoner and hostage issues after Russia appointed Lantratova as ombudswoman in May.

POW exchanges remain one of the few areas of cooperation between Kyiv and Moscow since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

According to Lubinets, the talks took place in Belarus and lasted more than three hours. He said the two officials first met privately for around 30 minutes before continuing negotiations with delegations of three representatives from each side.

"We agreed that we would start from scratch," he said.

Lubinets added that Ukraine emphasized several priority categories for future repatriations, including seriously wounded and seriously ill prisoners, as well as those who have spent the longest time in captivity.

He also said he provided the Russian side with a list of penal colonies and pretrial detention centers where Ukraine believes the rights of Ukrainian POWs are most severely violated.

Lubinets said he received preliminary assurances that Russia is prepared to conduct monitoring visits to such facilities and report their findings.

Ukraine also proposed granting representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) access to Ukrainian prisoners held in Russia and establishing a monitoring mission involving ombudsmen from third countries.

Lubinets said several foreign ombudsmen have expressed readiness to participate in such missions.

The negotiations begin under markedly different circumstances from previous contacts. Lubinets worked with former Russian ombudswoman Tatyana Moskalkova for nearly four years, but said talks with Lantratova effectively start from the beginning.

Lantratova has faced accusations of involvement in the forced deportation of Ukrainian children and has publicly supported legislation banning so-called "LGBT propaganda" in Russia.

The meeting came one day after the latest prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia. On June 5, 185 Ukrainian POWs and one civilian returned from Russian captivity in the latest swap.