Photo: UNIAN
The aggressor country Russia is actively trying to return mercenaries of the Wagner PMC and representatives of individual services and regions from Ukrainian captivity. This was stated by a representative of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, Andriy Yusov, during a national telethon on 20 April, the We Are Ukraine TV channel reports.
“Who do they want to see first? The lists are different. But we can recall when the Wagner group was active – they are working really hard to bring them back. Also, some representatives of certain regions and services are very concerned about their own,” Yusov said.
According to him, the Russian side is showing increased interest in the release of specific individuals, and this is often due not so much to humanitarian motives as to the political or propaganda significance of certain figures.
Ukraine, on the other hand, focuses on humanity:
“We traditionally give priority to seriously ill and severely wounded people, both civilians and military. This is a clear and public position of Ukraine,” the DIU representative stressed.
Yusov also said that new operations to return Ukrainian citizens from captivity are being prepared, including both within the framework of exchanges and outside them.
Context:
Recently, Russia has been increasingly trying to influence exchange processes, in particular by insisting on the return of mercenaries associated with the Wagner PMC, which, after the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, formally lost its leadership but is partially integrated into the Russian Ministry of Defence.
At the same time, Ukraine regularly conducts operations to release its defenders, with the last large-scale exchange taking place on 19 April – 277 Ukrainians returned home, 246 of them as part of the exchange, and another 31 people were released outside the agreement.
