Russia has returned seriously wounded Ukrainian soldiers from captivity for the first time
During the prisoner exchange on August 19, Russia handed over seriously wounded prisoners of war to Ukraine for the first time. Thirty-one Ukrainian defenders returned home, Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets reported.
“We’ve already gotten used to large numbers (in prisoner-of-war exchanges—ed.), but today 31 men, who were seriously wounded, returned. This is the first time the Russian side has returned this specific category of prisoners at our request. We haven’t recovered everyone in this category, but this is the first time such a large number has been handed over to us at once,” Lubinets said.
According to him, all the seriously wounded Ukrainian soldiers were immediately taken away by emergency medical vehicles.
The Ombudsman noted that, as is customary, immediately upon their return, all those released from captivity are interviewed about their conditions of detention, the use of torture, the denial of medical care, and so on.
“We have long documented 695 different types of torture used against Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian hostages. As is typical, all the men have lost a significant amount of weight. We have a practice of conducting simultaneous interviews with our Russian counterparts regarding both Ukrainian men returning to Ukraine from the Russian Federation and Russian prisoners of war. And traditionally, what we hear is precisely about these appalling conditions of detention, which we then immediately and automatically begin to address,” Lubinets noted.
He recalled that at a previous meeting, he had handed Russian Ombudswoman Lantratova a note from the Olenivka community.
“At the previous meeting, I raised the issue of repatriating these young men first and foremost. They were wounded in Olenivka back in 2022. I have been informed about the status of this request, but I am not yet ready to comment publicly. We will await the outcome in the future,” said the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner.
He also noted that they discussed with the Russian side the issue of continuous monitoring of detention facilities for prisoners of war.
“For the first time, the Russian side has officially announced that they are beginning to do this on a systematic basis and are involving the entire regional structure of the Russian Ombudsman’s Office,” Lubinec reported, emphasizing that Ukraine has long been conducting such monitoring with the participation of all regional offices of the Office of the Human Rights Commissioner.
The ombudsman added that during the exchange, a large number of postcards were handed over, which the Russian side is to deliver to Ukrainian prisoners of war. Similarly, Lantratova handed Lubinets postcards from Ukrainian prisoners of war to their families, as well as postcards for Russian prisoners of war.
Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, spoke about this on television, according to Ukrinform.
Lubinec explained the difficulties involved in evacuating civilians from the occupied town of Oleshky.
As a reminder, in April 2026, after a two-week hiatus, only two vehicles carrying goods for sale were able to reach the temporarily occupied town of Oleshky in the Kherson region.
About 1,700 residents currently remain in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky in the Kherson region, although the town’s population exceeded 24,000 before the start of the full-scale invasion. Among those who have not yet left are more than 40 children. At the same time, it is currently impossible to leave the city or enter it due to restrictions imposed by the occupying authorities.
