**Ukraine Ready to Bring Back All Captives, Says Ombudsman**
The Ukrainian government is ready to bring back all Ukrainians held captive in Russia. This was stated by Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian ombudsman, on December 2.
Lubinets made his comments after Russian officials published a list of 600 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) allegedly being held in Russia. The Russians claimed that Ukraine did not agree to take back these POWs.
**Ukraine Denies Delaying Exchanges**
But Lubinets said this was not true. He stated that Ukraine has been ready to exchange prisoners, including those who are seriously injured or ill. However, the Russian side is not making enough efforts to create a mixed medical commission to facilitate these exchanges.
The Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War also echoed Lubinets’ remarks. The secretary of the organization, Dmytro Usov, pointed out that some prisoners listed by Russia were already exchanged or did not exist at all.
**Russia Only Wants to Swap Soldiers from One Region**
Usov said that Russia is only interested in swapping soldiers captured in the Kursk Oblast region of Ukraine. He also stated that the Russian authorities are manipulating the situation for public consumption and ignoring the vulnerable relatives of those held captive.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, there have been several prisoner exchanges between the two sides. The most recent swap occurred in mid-October, with each side bringing back 95 prisoners.
**Ukraine Aims for All-for-All Exchange**
Lubinets said that since the start of the war, 3,767 Ukrainian POWs have returned home. Ukraine aims to conduct an all-for-all prisoner exchange, where all captives are released simultaneously.
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