Russia and Ukraine trade airstrikes as reconstruction and security talks resume in Brussels

Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War has informed Radio Svoboda that Russia has stopped taking back prisoners of war it recruited from Ukraine's occupied territories. The headquarters stated that Kyiv is prepared to return those who wish to go and exchanges occur when Moscow adds them to its exchange lists.

Russia drafts men from the occupied territories and sends them to fight Ukraine. The headquarters' statement was published on November 4, following Russia's human rights commissioner's claim that Moscow had recently brought back such men for the first time since 2022. These individuals belong to neither side's narrative; Ukraine considers them its citizens, yet they fought in Russia's army.

Kyiv claims that Moscow rarely requests their return. The headquarters did not disclose an exact number, but it did say that 15% of Russian POWs held in Ukraine were recruited from the occupied parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts and in Crimea. Since February 2026, Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War had informed investigative outlet Slidstvo.Info that about 15% of POWs had joined the Russian army from occupied territories.

Despite Ukraine's repeated offers to swap these prisoners under the condition that they voluntarily request to return to Russia in exchange for Ukrainian defenders, Russia has effectively stopped taking them back since 2023. According to the headquarters, only a few dozen from this group were swapped in 2023–2026. Ukraine has not blocked their return, the headquarters added.