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The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the President, has prepared proposals for a potential exchange of prisoners of war on an “all for all” basis. The head of the headquarters’ secretariat, Bohdan Okhrimenko, said this in an interview with Ukrinform .
Ukraine is ready for a large-scale exchange
“We are constantly promoting the idea of an exchange based on the ‘all for all’ formula. We have lists of our citizens held in Russian captivity, and this data has been confirmed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) or other sources. We also continue to work on the search for missing persons,” Okhrimenko said.
According to him, if an agreement is reached with Russia, Ukraine is ready to hand over all the prisoners it holds in exchange for the release of its citizens.
Difficulties in negotiations
Despite Ukraine’s readiness for a large-scale exchange, negotiations remain difficult. The Russian side has repeatedly rejected proposals for an “all-for-all” exchange, demanding separate conditions for specific groups of prisoners.
However, Okhrimenko stressed that the Ukrainian authorities remain open to any negotiations aimed at returning the prisoners of war home.
The situation with the IL-76 aircraft
During the interview, Okhrimenko also announced the completion of DNA examinations of the bodies handed over by Russia after the crash of the IL-76 aircraft in the Belgorod region in January 2024. According to the official, the DNA of nearly 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war out of 62 bodies handed over by Russia has been confirmed to be a match.
“This is another tragedy of this war. We are working to hand over the bodies of the victims to their families and ensure a decent burial,” he added.
Exchange prospects
Despite the challenges, the Ukrainian side does not lose hope of reaching an agreement on an “all-for-all” exchange. According to Okhrimenko, Ukraine is actively cooperating with international organisations and partners to increase diplomatic pressure on Russia.
“We are fighting for each of our citizens, and we are doing everything possible to bring them home,” Okhrimenko concluded.
The issue of prisoner of war exchange remains one of the key humanitarian issues in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, and the international community is closely monitoring the progress of the negotiations.
