Ukraine unilaterally transferred 14 civilians to Russia
On November 27, Ukraine unilaterally transferred 14 civilians to Russia as part of Ukraine’s humanitarian state project “I Want to Live.”
This was reported by the project on Telegram.
The report noted that the aggressor country illegally detains thousands of Ukrainian civilians — women, children, and elderly people — who have been taken hostage by Russian forces since the first days of the full-scale invasion. People were detained, subjected to torture, and then transported to Russia. A significant portion of these individuals are labeled by Russia as “prisoners of war” and are agreed to be returned only in exchange for Russian military personnel captured by Ukraine.
So far, Ukraine has managed to return 372 civilian hostages, including 51-year-old Serhiy Akhmetov from Bucha, who was abducted by Russian forces in 2022 and held illegally in Russian detention centers and penal colonies for over three years without trial or prisoner status. His release was only achieved in exchange for a Russian serviceman.
The “I Want to Live” project emphasizes that deported Ukrainian citizens are also treated inhumanely, being taken to a buffer zone on the border with Georgia without documents or the ability to cross the border, where people are forced to live in basements at checkpoints for months.
Kyiv, together with the United States, is refining a peace plan in which Ukraine demands specific provisions for the release of all prisoners of war and the return of Ukrainian children deported by Russia.
