Vatican representative granted access to Ukrainian POWs for first time since 2022 — Ukrainian ombudsman
According to Lubinets, during another meeting with Russia's human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova, the parties discussed further steps to secure the return of Ukrainian citizens.
Lubinets stressed that every prisoner exchange requires negotiations and can provide an opportunity to make progress towards the release of Ukrainian military personnel and civilians.
The ombudsman also reported that Cardinal Matteo Zuppi had been granted access to Ukrainian prisoners of war.
"For the first time since the start of the full-scale war, a foreign representative — Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, special envoy of Pope Leo XIV — was physically allowed to visit our men," Lubinets emphasised.
He added that Ukrainian defenders had confirmed that representatives of Russia's human rights commissioner had also begun visiting them.
"I hope this momentum will continue. We will do everything possible to ensure that all our citizens return from Russian places of detention," the ombudsman said.
Rubryka previously reported that Russia is unwilling to exchange Azov prisoners of war and marines, while Russian negotiators are interested in exchanging conscripts and Chechen prisoners.
As of May 2025, Russia had established more than 300 detention facilities for Ukrainian prisoners of war, including pre-trial detention centres, prisons, and penal colonies both in Russia and in occupied parts of Ukraine and Belarus. The Inferno project was launched to collect data on the conditions in which Ukrainian military personnel are held in captivity.
According to the UN, more than 95% of Ukrainian prisoners of war have been subjected to torture in Russian captivity. Previously, neither human rights defenders nor representatives of the Red Cross had been granted access to these facilities.
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26 of October 2026
