The Public Advocate conveyed his appreciation to the UAE, which aids Ukraine in talks to secure the return of war prisoners.
Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets / © twitter.com
The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada, Dmytro Lubinets, identified a pair of nations assisting Ukraine in the repatriation of prisoners and children.
Lubinets shared these remarks on a televised broadcast.
The Public Advocate voiced gratitude towards the UAE, which supports Ukraine in its discussions to bring back prisoners of war.
“I will state that we currently have a couple of nations (that help in the homecoming of Ukrainians – ed.): the UAE – concerning prisoners of war, and Qatar – concerning the return of Ukrainian children. These are nations that, in my assessment, employ all available methods of influence and persuasion on the Russian side,” he remarked.
Furthermore, Lubinets emphasized that Russians are failing to provide medical attention to severely injured prisoners, necessitating their urgent return.
“In my view, it is precisely this demographic – gravely wounded and critically ill prisoners of war – that warrants immediate repatriation. We are aware that the Russians are not supplying medical care to Ukrainian prisoners of war. Regrettably, a considerable number of our men are perishing directly due to the deficiency of medical care,” he articulated.
Lubinets also reminded that a four-party meeting was successfully held for the first time, attended by himself, the Russian Ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova, and the heads of the ICRC missions in both Ukraine and the Russian Federation.
“We had separate discussions on technical matters pertaining to the execution of repatriation procedures, and the initial measure the countries should undertake is the establishment of joint medical commissions. Ukraine, with backing from the ICRC, has established joint medical commissions. We urged the Russian side to emulate this – to commence the process of evaluating the physical condition of all prisoners of war and to automatically initiate the repatriation procedure,” he conveyed.
As per the ombudsman, he was informed during a technical meeting that the Russian side had initiated action on this: “without any assurances, is how I would characterize it.”
“However, I remain hopeful that the ICRC, which was present at this meeting, will, for its part, insist on the comprehensive enforcement of the Geneva Conventions by the Russian side. I do not anticipate this to be entirely effective or swift. Clearly, there will still be some postponement in the process, with various reasons and justifications sought. Nonetheless, at least the initial step, which I deem quite significant, has been taken. We anticipate subsequent meetings,” he observed.
Dmytro Lubinets also underscored that Ukraine demands that both the UN and the ICRC document the instance of another war crime perpetrated by Russian soldiers – the killing of six Ukrainian soldiers , which came to light on January 23.
“Alongside the ICRC, I have also appealed to the UN to document this incident. The objective is to ensure, among other things, that a special report is compiled separately, which I trust will be presented at the UN and other international organizations. This should not only reiterate condemnations of Russia’s actions but also instigate concrete measures – the imposition of additional sanctions against the Russian Federation, along with the allocation of fresh and expanded aid packages for Ukraine, Ukrainians, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the ombudsman declared.
According to Lubinets, “we simply cannot” currently mete out retribution for Russian malevolence, which consistently unveils new instances of war crimes daily, including the executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
“I appeal to all Ukrainian citizens: even upon witnessing such videos (depicting the execution of Ukrainian soldiers by Russians – ed.), our sole response should be one of gratitude and remembrance in our prayers for our heroes and heroines, who, regrettably, are perishing daily,” he concluded.
Separately, the deputy commander of the third separate assault brigade, Maksym Zhorin, has criticized the UN and the Red Cross for their lack of response to the killing of Ukrainian prisoners of war .
Source: tsn.ua