PACE rapporteur criticizes Ukraine for ignoring former captives

Ukraine has actually cast adrift the servicemen, held captive by the separatists in Donbas.

PACE rapporteur, Latvian MP Nelli Kleinberga said this in an interview with Deutsche Welle.

Kleinberga now collects information in Ukraine about the released captives for the report, which PACE will consider next June.

The MP already met with representatives of the Ukrainian NGOs, the OSCE and the Red Cross.

“However, the most emotional meeting was that with two guys, who were held captive by pro-Russian separatists. I was amazed when I learned that the state had actually cast them adrift after they had been released,” she said.

“One of the guys holds a degree in medicine but all the documents, proving his qualification, were left in the militant-controlled territory. Subsequently, he cannot find a job by his profession. It is just a small nuance, and there are a lot of them,” she added.

The MP noted that former captives needed psychological rehabilitation, social assistance, and attention of the state.

“The support and recognition of society are no less important for them. However, Ukraine has already established the center to promote the prisoner exchange. It is important but yet the first step. The state is obliged to help these people. However, after my meetings in Kiev, I have the impression that nobody needs them,” the speaker said.

“One guy said to me that it would be better to go back into captivity because there you knew who your enemy was and who you must fight against. But here he does not know whom to ask for help since all the requests have remained unanswered,” she added.

Commenting on the remark that Ukraine has not declared the war so the term “prisoner of war” may be inappropriate, Kleinberg said:

“The international terminology uses the definitions of ‘local conflict’ or ‘separatist unrest’ in such situations. However, there is strong evidence of the fact that people, who are fighting in Donbas, are military. So, I think we can use the term ‘prisoners of war’,” the rapporteur said.

Kleinberga noted she would like to visit Ukrainians Nadiya Savchenko and Oleg Sentsov, currently imprisoned in Russia, but she doubted that the “Russian authorities will provide the opportunity to meet with them, because the Russian delegation to PACE has virtually stopped its cooperation with the Assembly.”