Russian terrorist forces currently hold 150 Ukrainian citizens in captivity in Olenivka, Donetsk region.
Verkhovna Rada Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said this in an interview with Radio Liberty, Ukrinform reports.
“We are not allowed there again. Apparently, we will get access to Olenivka only after our armed forces liberate Olenivka. According to our information, 150 Ukrainian citizens remain there at the moment. It is not only the military,” Lubinets said.
When asked about the possibility of exchanging representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) for Ukrainians detained in Russia, he noted that he would not like to escalate the issue specifically with representatives of the church.
“I can say that if any Russian citizen is of interest to the Russian authorities, we are ready to consider any options for returning them to Russian territory for the return of our heroes. We can exchange only prisoners of war. We can release civilians only as part of, perhaps, some mutual obligations. Or, for example, after conviction, we can send them to Russian territory to serve their terms. It is very important for us, first of all, to find legal grounds. And we do have them. By the way, we have different options. And secondly, yes, we are ready to do it,” Lubinets said.
On July 29, at the former penal colony No. 210 in Olenivka, in the temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk region, a powerful explosion obliterated a barrack where Ukrainian prisoners of war were transferred to ahead of the incident. According to the Russian side, nearly 50 Ukrainian defenders were killed and more than 70 others were seriously injured.
