Kyiv has yet to reveal the total number of POWs it claims to have taken over the course of its more than weeklong incursion into Russian territory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that capturing Russian troops was one of the key goals of the operation, in order to replenish what he refers to as the POW “exchange fund.”
Ukraine’s Human Rights Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on Wednesday during a national fundraising telethon that while Russia has publicly ruled out prisoner exchanges, Moscow’s ombudsman had suggested an informational discussion on the topic. “I hope this situation [in Kursk] will change their stance on blocking the POW exchange. At least now, they initiate talks,” Lubinets said.
Kyiv is now considering establishing military command offices in the Kursk region in order to evacuate civilians safely and allow humanitarian supplies through, Zelenskyy said during a meeting of the government on Wednesday afternoon.
Lubinets underscored that message, saying during the telethon that humanitarian corridors would allow international organizations to monitor the situation on the ground in Ukrainian-controlled parts of Russia. Kyiv’s forces are already providing humanitarian aid to civilians in territories they control and act in accordance with international law, Lubinets added.
But while the successes of the surprise Kursk operation have boosted Kyiv’s morale, Russian forces are striking back, capturing more territory around Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
Since Ukraine launched the Kursk offensive, “I would say things have become worse in our part of the front,” said Ivan Sekach, spokesperson of Ukraine’s 110th Mechanized Brigade, which is currently deployed in the Pokrovsk district in the Donetsk region. “We have been getting even less ammo than before and Russians are pushing,” he told POLITICO.
