Archive · 12 Aug 2026
Russia lists 224 Ukrainian POWs for exchange amid Kyiv dispute
Russia and Ukraine are fighting a big war.
When soldiers are captured, they become prisoners of war, and the two countries usually swap them.
Russia said it is ready to exchange 224 Ukrainian prisoners, but claimed Ukraine refused to take them back.
Ukraine called that a lie and said it wants every citizen returned.
The two sides also disagree about prisoners from parts of Ukraine that Russia controls.
Russia says those prisoners are treated the same; Ukraine says Russia is leaving them off the swap lists.
A group from the United Nations said Ukrainian prisoners in Russia face widespread bad treatment, but Russia disagreed.
Both countries keep arguing about who is blocking the swaps, and no one knows exactly how many prisoners each side holds.
Russia's human rights commissioner published a list of 224 Ukrainian POWs it says Moscow is ready to exchange, accusing Kyiv of rejecting the swap.
Ukraine's Dmytro Lubinets called the claim 'cynical lies,' saying Ukraine works daily to bring back every citizen.
The Ukrainian project 'I Want to Find' accuses Moscow of excluding POWs from Russian-held parts of Donetsk and Luhansk from exchange lists; Lantratova denies discrimination.
A May agreement to swap 1,000 captives each side was a key result of U.S.-brokered Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations.
A U.N. official reported 'widespread and systematic torture' of Ukrainian POWs by Russian authorities, which Russia's representative rejected.
- Who
- Russian human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova and Ukrainian parliamentary human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets, with U.N. officials also weighing in on treatment of POWs.
- What
- Russia published a list of 224 Ukrainian prisoners of war it says it is ready to exchange, while both sides traded accusations over who is hampering prisoner swaps.
- When
- The list was published on Wednesday, August 12; a U.N. official spoke on the preceding Monday. The full-scale war began in February 2022.
- Where
- Russia and Ukraine, including prisoners from Russian-held parts of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions; the report was dispatched from London.
- Why
- The two sides dispute which is hampering exchange efforts amid U.S.-brokered peace negotiations and reciprocal accusations of abuse.
Ukraine's view
Russia's view
Who is blocking prisoner exchanges
Ukraine's view
Ukraine calls Russia's claim that Kyiv rejected swaps 'cynical lies' and says it is always committed to bringing back every citizen.
Russia's view
Russia says it proposed three different exchange lists over the past month and is ready for a swap, while Ukraine refuses to take back its own citizens.
POWs from Russian-held territory
Ukraine's view
The 'I Want to Find' project accuses Moscow of excluding POWs from Russian-held parts of Ukraine from exchange lists.
Russia's view
Yana Lantratova denies that Russia discriminates against prisoners from Russian-held parts of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Treatment of prisoners of war
Ukraine's view
A U.N. official said monitoring documented widespread and systematic torture of Ukrainian POWs and civilian detainees by Russian authorities.
Russia's view
Russia's representative rejected the allegations at the Security Council, and both sides accuse each other of abuses.
- Russian commissioner
- Yana Lantratova
- Ukrainian commissioner
- Dmytro Lubinets
- POWs on Russia's list
- 224 Ukrainian prisoners
- May swap agreement
- 1,000 captives each side under U.S.-brokered talks
- War start
- February 2022, full-scale war
- Exchanges since war start
- Thousands of prisoners
- U.N. finding
- Widespread and systematic torture of Ukrainian POWs by Russian authorities
- Disputed region
- Donetsk and Luhansk (Russian-held parts of Ukraine)