Russia manipulated a recent exchange of prisoners of war (POWs) with Ukraine by sending mostly ordinary criminals awaiting deportation instead of captured soldiers or pro-Ukrainian activists.

The composition of civilians returned to Ukraine has raised questions about the exchange process and support systems for returnees. According to the organization “Protection of Prisoners of Ukraine,” more than half of the 120 civilians who returned to Ukraine were individuals convicted of non-war-related criminal offenses, Suspilne News reports.

The organization identified two distinct categories among the returnees: 15 prisoners who had been serving sentences in colonies in occupied Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts, and approximately 50 Ukrainian citizens who had completed sentences in Russia but became trapped in deportation centers.

Under normal circumstances, Russian authorities would have deported these individuals to Ukraine after they completed their sentences. However, since Russia’s 2022 border closure due to the full-scale invasion, Ukrainian citizens have remained indefinitely in deportation centers designed for foreign nationals illegally present in Russia.

Oleksandr, a man from Lozova in Kharkiv Oblast, described his experience to Suspilne reporters. After completing a sentence for theft in May 2024 at a Tula colony, he was immediately detained and sent to a deportation center rather than being released.

“We were slaves there. They oppressed us, affected human dignity, treated us not particularly positively,” he stated.

The judicial system perpetuated this detention through renewable three-month deportation orders. When the initial three-month expulsion period expired, courts would issue new three-month decisions, creating an indefinite detention cycle.

Russia recruits prisoners for military operations against their own people

Multiple returnees reported that Russian authorities offered them enlistment in the Russian military in exchange for release and citizenship.

“There were those who agreed. Not only Ukrainian citizens, there were Armenians, Uzbeks, and Tajiks. It’s not their war, but they still go,” Oleksandr explained. “I didn’t agree because my home is Ukraine. I’m a sincere Ukrainian. I don’t need any of that.”

Another returnee Vadym from Kyiv Oblast also told that Russian authorities repeatedly pressured him to join the Russian army.

Vadim traveled to Russia in 2019 but was detained at the border on drug smuggling charges, which he claims were unfair and without evidence. After completing his prison sentence, he was placed in a deportation center. Now after return to Ukraine, he says he wants to “be with loved ones and start life from scratch.”

Prisoners in Russian captivity face beatings and humiliation

The transfer process began abruptly on 21 May, when facility administrators instructed Ukrainian detainees to prepare for departure without explanation. Returnees described harsh treatment during transport, including beatings with electric shock devices and overtightened handcuffs that left visible injuries.

“Police officers in masks rushed in, beat us, shackled us, loaded us into a bus and drove us in an unknown direction,” Oleksandr recounted. 

Another returnee noted that guards would ask which hand hurt from tight handcuffs before shocking it with a taser.

The detainees only learned they were part of a prisoner exchange when they reached the Ukrainian-Belarusian border. Many expressed mixed feelings about their inclusion in the exchange, with Oleksandr stating:

“It would be better if they gave back the guys who fought instead of us. I was ready to endure there further,” he says.

Oleh Tsvily, head of “Protection of Prisoners of Ukraine” characterized Russia’s use of detained Ukrainians as leverage in prisoner exchanges as a departure from previous practices, when deportations typically occurred through Georgia.

“They kidnapped these people to trade with them,” he said, arguing that these individuals should have been released without conditions.

Returnees face challenges back home, some consider joining Ukrainian army

Now being back in Ukraine poses new challenges for returnees as half of them lack proper documentation or have nowhere to go, according to Oleh Tsvily.

Returnee Oleksandr reported that Russian authorities deliberately destroyed his original passport because he “went against the Russian Federation and didn’t support their concepts.”

Petro Yatsenko, representing the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, stated the government tries to address their issues with housing, financial support, and placement. He explains that this exchange was reportedly prepared hastily, limiting Ukraine’s ability to influence the composition of exchange lists.

Returnee Viktor considers joining the Ukrainian army because he felt “ashamed” that he wasn’t in Ukraine “when all this mess started.” 

Viktor from Kharkiv moved to Irkutsk, Russia in 2016 with his Russian wife and daughter, working as a builder and later a market loader. After losing his residence permit, FSB officers detained him at work in October 2024, with an operative later explaining that “a paper came about me that I’m Ukrainian, arouse suspicion and need to be checked.”

He spent five months in a deportation center before being transferred for the prisoner exchange.

The head of “Protection of Prisoners of Ukraine” organization acknowledged that this category of returnees is viewed less favorably by the public, which had hoped for the release of prisoners of war, children, or pro-Ukrainian activists instead.

However, he defended their inclusion in the exchange, emphasizing that these individuals are Ukrainian citizens who refused to take up arms against their homeland. He argued that society should respect their decision to resist collaboration and predicted that some would contribute to Ukraine’s defense efforts.

“I’m confident that some of them will go defend the country. These people will definitely bring some benefit. So there’s no need to spread betrayal! These are living people, they are our citizens,” Tsvily said.