Russia uses prisoners to increase pressure on Ukrainians. Russia uses them as a political weapon. This was reported by Politico, UNN.
Details
The last major prisoner exchange took place in August, but Ukrainian families are receiving calls from prisoners of war held by Russia asking them to protest against the Ukrainian government.
Valentyna Tkachenko, the wife of a defender of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant who was captured at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, said that on November 29 this year, her husband, Serhiy, called her via video.
"We talked for only three minutes. I was not allowed to ask him questions. Every time I tried, he shook his head and simply refused. Instead, he kept talking: "Valya, go and make life difficult for Kyiv. Kyiv doesn't want to take us back," the prisoner of war's wife said, adding that "then he apologized and ended the conversation, promising to call back if he had the opportunity."
According to Petro Yatsenko, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian coordination headquarters for the treatment of prisoners of war, other families have received similar calls from soldiers held by the Russians.
"A person hasn't heard from a relative for over a year, and then they call and say that he is alive. The Russians are ready to exchange him, but Ukraine does nothing. Recently, these calls have become massive. And we realized that this is a campaign aimed at causing distrust in the government," Yatsenko said.
According to Politico, Russia's refusal to exchange prisoners of war seems to be aimed at stirring up tensions in Ukrainian society.
Tkachenko believes that her family, like other prisoners of war, has become a tool in a political game.
Addendum
As of today, Russia is holding more than 3,000 Ukrainian military and about 28,000 civilians. However, the real number may be even higher.
"For example, some of those in captivity have not yet been confirmed. These people are still considered 'missing', although we have information that they may be in captivity," Yatsenko said.