Ukraine insists on the return of citizens under the “All for All” formula — Lubinets
Ukraine, within the framework of the peace process and the humanitarian track, insists on the return of all citizens held by Russia — including prisoners of war, civilian hostages, and deported children.
This was stated by the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, during a conversation with journalists.
The Ukrainian delegation has already held three rounds of negotiations with Russia on Turkish territory. The official representative in the humanitarian track was Deputy Ombudsman Yuriy Kovbasa.
“Before my trip to Geneva, to the United States, I had a more than two-hour conversation with the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov, who leads the Ukrainian delegation. We worked separately on issues of the humanitarian track,” Lubinets noted.
He emphasized that in every negotiation, Ukraine primarily raises humanitarian issues.
“First is the implementation of exchange processes, including using the ‘all for all’ formula. Second is the return of all Ukrainian children,” the ombudsman said.
Lubinets stressed that Ukraine is ready for data verification and additional communication, but the principle of returning absolutely all citizens remains unchanged.
“The ‘all for all’ formula, in the Ukrainian interpretation, means the return of all Ukrainian citizens — prisoners of war and civilian hostages. We do not separate them,” he emphasized.
The ombudsman also drew attention to the fact that Russia opening criminal cases against Ukrainian prisoners of war is a violation of international law.
“We demand that such actions by Russia be recognized as a violation of the Geneva Convention. It explicitly prohibits opening criminal cases against prisoners of war,” Lubinets emphasized.
He added that international humanitarian law forbids the detention of civilians who remain in temporarily occupied territories.
“We have legal grounds to demand the return of all Ukrainian citizens from the territory of the Russian Federation and temporarily occupied territories,” the commissioner added.
