Positive news about prisoner exchanges may come before the New Year, according to Lubinets.

The Human Rights Ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, stated that there may be positive news regarding the return of Ukrainians from Russian captivity before the New Year. Negotiations are currently ongoing with the mediation of the UAE. However, it is important not to rule out the possibility that the aggressor may disrupt these agreements.

Lubinets shared this information during the telethon "Unified News." He noted that there is some communication regarding this matter. However, he cautioned that Ukrainians should not interpret this information as an announcement, as the Russians could cancel everything.

"There is communication, and I really hope that we will have positive news by the New Year. I do not want Ukrainian society to perceive this information as an announcement. You can never be 100% sure that you are expecting an agreement from the Russian Federation," said the ombudsman.

He specifically emphasized the return of deported Ukrainian children. According to him, Russia refuses to cooperate on this issue, and therefore, every child that makes it home is a significant achievement. The operations regarding this matter are complex and prolonged.

Lubinets added that if one deported child were to be returned every day, it would take at least 55 years. However, this figure is far from final, as the Russians continue to transport underage Ukrainians from the occupied territories. Statistics indicate that there are currently about 1.5 million children in those areas, all of whom are at risk of deportation.

Prisoner Exchange

Recently, the Russian Federation published lists of Ukrainian prisoners of war and claimed that Kyiv allegedly does not want to retrieve its people. However, the ombudsman refuted this, stating that it is the Russians who ignore proposals for exchanges and sabotage those that have already been agreed upon.

The latest exchange list published by the Russian Ombudsman Moskalkova includes 630 names of Ukrainian prisoners of war. It is claimed that these are lists of individuals that Ukraine supposedly does not want to exchange. Shortly before this, Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets met with his Russian counterpart in Belarus with the support of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). It was noted that as a result of the meeting, a number of humanitarian agreements were reached aimed at supporting Ukrainian citizens, including prisoners of war and their families.

In November, Ukraine received back a record number of the bodies of fallen defenders – 563. The defenders died in two areas – Donetsk and Bakhmut. The repatriation efforts were made possible through the cooperation of the staff of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War with the Joint Center of the Security Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and several security and defense structures of Ukraine.

Earlier, Informator reported that on October 18, 95 servicemen were released from Russian captivity. Among them were National Guardsmen, military sailors, soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, border guards, and representatives of other units — a total of 69 soldiers and sergeants and 26 officers. The Ukrainians who returned home had been sentenced to draconian terms of imprisonment by Russia.