Ukraine is preparing lists of political prisoners and journalists for swap with Russia — Zelenskyi
Ukraine wants to free civilians (political prisoners and journalists) from Russian custody and the work on compiling lists of such prisoners is already underway, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced during a meeting with journalists, reports hromadske, which had a reporter present.
According to the President, at the last meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Istanbul, the parties agreed on a swap of 1,200 POWs. Ukraine also wants the release of civilians from Russian captivity.
“We have been approaching this issue for a long time. I think this is an important aspect. These are civilians — political prisoners and journalists. We have started perparing the lists. Now we are working with the category of political prisoners and journalists. And you know that we cannot swap civilians. They must release civilians. so we are now looking for a format for the lists. Both from our side and from their side,” Zelenskyi said.
According to the Institute of Mass Information, as of July 25, 2025, at least 28 civilian Ukrainian media workers and one journalist turned combatant remain imprisoned in Russia.
On October 23, 2024, journalist and human rights activist Maksym Butkevych, who was released from Russian prison, handed a list of journalists imprisoned by Russia to President Volodymyr Zelenskyi.
International humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions do not provide for swapping civilian prisoners for prisoners of war (the exchange procedure only applies to prisoners of war).
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