Civilians held by Russia for eight years not included in recent prisoner swap

Journalist Stanislav Aseyev has drawn attention to the plight of civilians who have been held in Russian captivity for eight years, pointing out that not one of them was among those released during the recent thousand-for-thousand prisoner exchange.

Source: Stanislav Aseyev, a journalist and writer who was formerly held in the Izolyatsia prison in the temporarily occupied city of Donetsk, on Facebook

Quote: "The final stage of the large-scale prisoner exchange has taken place – and not one of the civilians who have been held for EIGHT years is among them. EIGHT YEARS. The list of hostages I handed to President Zelenskyy back in January 2020 has remained just that – a list."

Details: Aseyev said most of these people are being held in Penal Colony No. 32, a strict regime facility in the Russian-occupied city of Makiivka, Donetsk Oblast, where they were transferred after being imprisoned in Izolyatsia and other detention facilities.

He pointed out that some of them had assisted Ukrainian intelligence services at a time when "most people didn’t care about what was happening in Donbas".

Quote: "I don't know if there is anyone else in the 11-year history of this war who has been imprisoned longer. And I don’t want to compare the suffering of prisoners – that’s impossible from both an objective and a moral standpoint.

But the length of captivity is an objective measure, and if the state is bringing back civilians (and it is), it is completely unacceptable to ignore those who have been held the longest."

Details: Asieiev also stressed that to Russia, these people mean nothing.

"These people in Penal Colony No. 32 mean nothing to Russia," he stated. "So the real question is – do they mean anything to their own state?" 

Background:

• On 25 May, Ukraine and Russia conducted the third phase of a thousand-for-thousand prisoner exchange. Another 303 Ukrainian defenders have returned home.
• Colonel Denys "Redis" Prokopenko, Commander of the Azov National Guard Brigade, has stated that not a single Azov fighter was included in the recent three-day prisoner exchange with Russia. He said he does not believe the Ukrainian authorities are interested in bringing them back.

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