In a move described as “desperate and worrying” by human rights activists, Ukraine has sent dozens of its citizens convicted of collaborating with Russia to Moscow in an attempt to secure the release of Ukrainian civilians held illegally in Russian jails. As part of the recent 1,000 for 1,000 prisoner exchange between Kyiv and Moscow, 70 Ukrainian civilians convicted of collaborating with Russia were released from prisons and sent to Russia.
According to the Ukrainian government, these individuals went into exile voluntarily under a scheme called “I want to go to my own,” which allows those convicted of collaborating with Russia to be sent to Russia in exchange for Ukrainian civilians held in Russian jails. However, human rights groups and international lawyers argue that this scheme is problematic and contradicts previous statements made by the Ukrainian government.
Onysiia Syniuk, a legal analyst at Zmina, a Ukrainian human rights group, expressed concerns over the scheme, saying, “I completely understand the sentiment, we all want the people (who are detained in Russia) to be released as quickly as possible and Russia has no will to do that… but the solution that is offered is definitely not the right one.” Yulia Gorbunova, a senior researcher on Ukraine at Human Rights Watch, emphasized that under international humanitarian law, civilians should not be exchanged and must be released unconditionally.
At least 16,000 Ukrainian civilians are known to be detained in Russia, with many more likely still in captivity. These civilians include activists, journalists, priests, politicians, and community leaders, as well as people who appear to have been snatched by Russian troops at random. The detention of civilians by an occupying power is illegal under international laws of conflict, except in narrowly defined situations with strict time limits.
The Ukrainian government has rallied its allies to increase pressure on Russia over the issue, and international organizations, including the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), have repeatedly called on Moscow to unconditionally release its civilian detainees. However, Russia has ignored these pleas.
The Russian Human Rights Commissioner, Tatyana Moskalkova, described the convicted Ukrainian collaborators sent to Russia as “political prisoners.” The Ukrainian government claims that these individuals were serving sentences for collaboration with Moscow, but human rights lawyers argue that the Ukrainian collaboration law is flawed and has led to the prosecution of people who should not have been charged.
Human rights organizations have also raised concerns over the way these individuals have been disowned by their country. Syniuk stated, “These people are still Ukrainian citizens, and the wording that they have on the website is that they were exchanged for ‘real Ukrainians’– that is very … not okay.”