Kyiv says over 1,000 Ukrainian prisoners held in Russia

Russia have held in captivity more than 1,000 Ukrainian military personnel and civilians since 2022, Bohdan Okhrimenko, a senior Ukrainian official, has stated.

In an interview with Ukrinform, the head of the Secretariat of Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said Russia planned to capture Kyiv in three days, but the security and defence forces repelled the offensive, Caliber.Az reports.

“However, civilians and military units who found themselves in the path of Russian forces became hostages of the situation. More than a thousand people have been in captivity since 2022,” he added.

Okhrimenko stressed that securing the return of these prisoners remains a top priority.

He also highlighted difficult conditions in detention, including poor nutrition, limited access to medical care, and what he described as systematic violence by the occupying side.

“We understand that these people must be a priority, because their resources are being exhausted,” he emphasised.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov