Ukrainian ombudsman, Poland, NB8 discuss return of Ukrainian captives
Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets held meetings with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and representatives of the foreign ministries of the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8), during which he discussed the return of Ukrainian children, civilians and prisoners of war illegally held or deported by Russia.
During his meeting with Sikorski, Lubinets also raised the issue of protecting the rights and security of more than one million Ukrainians who are in Poland because of Russia's aggression against Ukraine.
"We also discussed the return of Ukrainians whom Russia is illegally holding, and our children whom it has deported. Separately, we discussed strengthening cooperation with Poland's new Human Rights Commissioner, Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram," the statement distributed on the Telegram channel said.
During the meeting with representatives of the foreign ministries of the Nordic-Baltic Eight, joint efforts to return Ukrainian children, civilian hostages and prisoners of war were discussed.
According to Lubinets, to date Ukraine has returned 2,573 children and 9,726 adult Ukrainians, including 903 civilians and 8,823 prisoners of war.
"At the same time, additional effective mechanisms need to be developed to help accelerate this process. After all, time is not on our side," the ombudsman said.