Some are wounded, most are very young and all want to go home. President Volodymyr Zelensky calls Russian soldiers captured in the lightning offensive in the Kursk region Ukraine's “exchange fund.”
He hopes that prisoners of war taken during the surprise attack that caught Russia off guard can be quickly exchanged for some of the approximately 6,500 Ukrainian soldiers that Moscow says it is holding.
“This operation is our biggest investment in the process of freeing Ukrainians from Russian captivity,” Zelensky said last week.
“We have already captured the largest number of Russian prisoners of war in one operation.”
Ukraine reports that large numbers of Russian troops, reportedly hundreds, have surrendered during the offensive that began on August 6.
AFP requested access to a number of prisoners of war held just across the border in Ukraine's Sumy region.
Although there were Ukrainian guards nearby, it did not appear that the prisoners were being forced to speak to each other.
A 22-year-old Russian prisoner of war, a conscript, said he and others were “simply abandoned by our command” when Ukrainian troops arrived.
“Everything was normal, everything was fine. And then this unexpected moment turned everything upside down,” he said, sitting on a bunk bed in his cell.
“It was unexpected,” he repeated.
The young man, wearing checked trousers and plastic slippers, said he hoped “to be exchanged and go back home – to my family”.
Another detainee, a 42-year-old border guard with a bandaged leg, said he was captured on the first day of the offensive.
“There was a complete encirclement and no way to break through. So it was decided to surrender,” he said.
“I hope they trade me and I go back home. That's my biggest hope, of course,” he said.
The Ukrainian offensive took Russia by surprise.
Kiev said thousands of troops took part in the raid, which came two and a half years after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.
– 'Ordinary people –
The deputy head of the detention centre told AFP that “very large numbers” of Russian prisoners of war have been captured so far, without giving an exact number.
The POWs were “afraid of everything” at first, he said, but “were brought back to life after a few days” when they saw they were being treated well.
“On the battlefield they are hated soldiers, and when captured they become ordinary people,” said the guard, who called himself Volodymyr.
Ukrainian officials have not given exact numbers of prisoners of war, but say they were mostly young conscripts captured during the chaotic first days of the invasion.
Officials say 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been repatriated since the war began, but “thousands” remain in Russian captivity.
At a meeting with foreign media, including AFP, in June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia has 6,465 Ukrainian soldiers, while Ukraine has 1,348 Russian soldiers.
Discussions between the two parties take place regularly, but usually only a few dozen people are involved.
This time, Ukraine has said it is already in talks with Russia about an exchange of the Kursk POWs.
Human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said last week that his Russian counterpart Tatyana Moskalkova had contacted him. He said this was the first time Moscow had contacted him about a prisoner swap.
“I see that this situation… has at least forced the Russian side to take the initiative,” he said.
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