Ukraine Brings Home 7 Civilians Held for Years by Russia as Ombudsmen Restart Direct Talks
Updated
Updated · Kyiv Independent · Jun 27
Ukraine Brings Home 7 Civilians Held for Years by Russia as Ombudsmen Restart Direct Talks
3 articles · Updated · Kyiv Independent · Jun 27
Summary
Seven Ukrainian civilians aged 35 to 66 returned home on June 27 after years of unlawful detention by Russia, according to Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets.
Direct talks between Lubinets and Russia's new human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova, enabled the return, with Lubinets saying communication had to restart from scratch after her May appointment.
The civilians were seized during Russia's 2022 occupations of Mariupol and parts of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Luhansk; one was taken because his sons serve in Ukraine's military, another on Feb. 24, 2022.
Russia said 7 Russian civilians also returned in the exchange, including 5 from Kursk Oblast, parts of which Ukrainian forces briefly held in 2024.
The swap followed Ukraine's return of 160 prisoners of war a day earlier, underscoring exchanges as one of the few remaining channels between Kyiv and Moscow.