The military operation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kursk region had a positive impact on the process of exchanging prisoners of war between Ukraine and Russia. After the start of this operation, the Russian side took the initiative to communicate about the exchange of prisoners for the first time. This was announced by the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets in an interview with the Rada TV channel, UNN reports.
It had a positive impact. I am not a military expert, I have heard many different opinions. Some say that from the point of view of a military operation, it was a successful operation. Some say it was not a successful operation. It's not for me to give an assessment, but as a person who is directly involved in the process of returning Ukrainian citizens from Russian captivity, the military operation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kursk region added arguments to this process, so it had a positive impact. I remember when this military operation began, I think two days later, when the Russian side took the initiative to communicate for the first time. In my opinion, we, as the Ukrainian negotiating team, used it 100%, because we managed to return the most difficult to return Ukrainian citizens for the first time - convicts, Mariupol defenders
He noted that Ukraine has an agreement on the return of military personnel who were convicted by Russian courts.
Recall
Earlier, Lubinets notedthat there is a preliminary agreement with the Russian side that exchanges in 2025 should become systematic, with the priority of returning primarily seriously ill and seriously wounded.