Russia and Ukraine Hold First Human Rights Meeting Amid POW Exchange

In a significant development, representatives from Russia and Ukraine's human rights offices met for the first time during a prisoner of war (POW) exchange on Tuesday, according to Kyiv. This exchange, brokered by the United Arab Emirates, saw each country release 90 captured soldiers. It marked the latest in over 50 prisoner exchanges since the war began, but notably, the first to include direct human rights discussions.

Why This Matters: Ukraine's human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, stated, "This was another initiative of Ukraine, to which the Russian side agreed for the first time." Both sides recorded the condition of the returning POWs to monitor for potential human rights violations during captivity.

Russia’s human rights commissioner, Tatyana Moskalkova, confirmed the meeting, noting that they exchanged information on options for the mutual return of civilians currently held.

Public diplomatic contacts between Russia and Ukraine have been rare since Russia's invasion of Ukraine over two years ago. Ukrainian POWs reportedly complained about poor conditions in Russian captivity. Lubinets expressed hope that Moscow would "make every effort to ensure the conditions of detention of prisoners of war improve."

The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine reported on Wednesday that it had documented cases of Ukrainian soldiers being tortured while in Russian captivity. The report included interviews with more than 600 freed Ukrainian POWs, including some released in a recent exchange on May 31.

"Consistent with previous findings, every single interviewee from this recent exchange has given accounts of torture, from brutal beatings to prolonged stress positions, to electric shocks on genitals and to dog attacks," the report stated. Many interviewees also described being constantly hungry and deprived of proper medical care for extended periods.

This historic meeting between human rights representatives signifies a potential step towards addressing and mitigating human rights abuses in the ongoing conflict, with both sides committing to improving the treatment of POWs and exploring further humanitarian exchanges.

Key Takeaways:

• Historic human rights meeting held during Russia-Ukraine POW exchange.
• 90 soldiers from each side released in UAE-brokered exchange.
• Meeting aimed to monitor POW conditions and address human rights concerns.
• Reports of Ukrainian POWs facing torture and poor conditions in Russian captivity.
• UN documents consistent accounts of abuse from recently freed Ukrainian POWs.