Kathrine Frich
Armies often recruit foreign fighters to boost their front line numbers during prolonged conflicts.
When these international recruits get captured, navigating their safe return becomes a massive diplomatic puzzle.
Putin is currently playing absolute favorites at the negotiating table.
Playing absolute favorites
Ukrainian authorities hold numerous international fighters who took up arms for the invading forces. Returning them involves complex legal hurdles.
Bohdan Okhrimenko leads the Secretariat of Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. He shared stunning details about exchange talks with the news outlet Ukrinform cited by United24media.
The official revealed that Moscow completely ignores almost all of its captured foreign recruits. They only care about retrieving two specific individuals.
“Sometimes we have to persuade them to take back their own citizens. This also applies to foreigners who fought for Russia. We already have a significant number of them in captivity. In the negotiation process, the Russian side shows no interest in them. There has not been a single request from Russia, except for North Koreans. On several occasions, they asked whether we were ready to hand over specifically the North Koreans,” Okhrimenko stated.
Following strict rules
Handling the two North Korean captives requires navigating strict international humanitarian laws. The Ukrainian government moves carefully to avoid diplomatic traps.
“If diplomats and lawyers find a mechanism that meets these requirements, we are ready to consider such proposals. Ukraine has ratified the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions and must comply with them, because Russia, despite not adhering to them itself, could falsely accuse us of violating international humanitarian law and creating a precedent in this matter,” Okhrimenko noted.
He added that the Third Geneva Convention strictly prohibits returning a prisoner of war against their will.
“If a prisoner of war does not want to return and there is no other mechanism, we will hold them for as long as necessary until this issue is resolved,” he explained to Ukrinform.
Abandoned in captivity
While Russian negotiators push for the North Koreans, they ignore two Chinese citizens detained last spring. The Security Service of Ukraine holds those individuals.
“Russia has not inquired about any foreign nationals except North Koreans,” Okhrimenko confirmed.
“If there is criminal liability for mercenary activity in China, then their citizens who participated in an armed conflict on the side of a third state may face prosecution upon return. Were these individuals part of the Russian armed forces, were they under contract, or were they deployed? To answer this, an evidentiary basis is required. And knowing Russia’s behaviour in such matters, I would not be surprised if it turns out they are Chinese citizens with Russian passports, as is common in certain regions of Russia,” Okhrimenko said.
Sources: Ukrinform, Untied24Media.
