Kremlin aims to blame Ukraine for stalled prisoner swaps — Center for Countering Disinformation
Russia is preparing to launch a series of disinformation efforts aimed at creating the false impression that Ukraine is “unwilling” to bring its citizens home from Russian captivity, Center for Countering Disinformation wrote on Aug. 3.
CCD noted that the Kremlin’s new fake narratives will include claims that Ukraine is allegedly refusing to conduct prisoner exchanges on the “all for all” principle, and is instead only agreeing to swap certain “selected” prisoners.
By spreading such disinformation, Russia aims to manipulate the exchange process and shift responsibility for its lack of transparency onto Ukraine, officials emphasized. The goal of this campaign is to discredit the Ukrainian government.
The CCD stressed that Ukraine is consistently working to bring every citizen home from captivity.
Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council had earlier debunked false Russian claims alleging that Kyiv refused to take back its own citizens — specifically, 90 prisoners of war and former inmates reportedly left at the Verkhniy Lars border crossing in Russia. These accusations, widely promoted by Russian propaganda outlets, were entirely false, the CCD reminded.
On July 23, Ukraine and Russia held the third round of negotiations in Istanbul, mediated by Turkish officials. The two sides agreed to conduct a new prisoner exchange involving over 1,200 people. As of Aug. 3, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that the process of verifying and finalizing the exchange lists is ongoing.
On July 28, Zelenskyy reported that since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine has successfully returned 5,857 individuals from Russian captivity, and another 555 outside formal exchanges. As part of the recent Istanbul agreements, over 1,000 soldiers have already been brought home.
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