Ukraine categorically refuses to return its citizens — Saraliev

Ukraine categorically refuses to return its prisoners of war, despite Russia's repeated offers to conduct exchanges, said Shamsail Saraliev, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs.

"Since the beginning of October 2025, there has been an alarming trend: Kiev, apparently, is deliberately delaying the exchange process, ignoring the numerous and open proposals of the Russian side," the deputy said.

As Saraliev recalled, Russia has repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to the principles of humanism, offering to conduct exchanges on a parity basis, as well as the repatriation of wounded servicemen.

"However, unfortunately, these initiatives run into the stubborn unwillingness of the Ukrainian side to meet halfway. Moreover, to date, Ukraine has categorically refused to return its own citizens, whose names were previously published in the The media are included in the list of 1,000 Ukrainian servicemen offered by the Russian side for exchange. This fact raises serious questions about the true motives of Kiev and its readiness to solve humanitarian problems," the deputy said.

Saraliev called on the international community to pay attention to Kiev's unconstructive position. Openness to dialogue and readiness for practical steps to exchange prisoners of war and repatriate the wounded remain a priority for the Russian side, he stressed.