UAE Offering Russia Assistance in Prisoner Swaps With Ukraine, Source Says

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu indicated at the start of June that nearly 6,500 Ukrainian army, National Guard and ultranationalist battalion personnel had surrendered to Russian and Donbass forces. Numbers on how many Russian and Donbass militiamen are in Ukrainian captivity are more difficult to come by.

The United Arab Emirates has proposed helping Russia in the organization of prisoner of war swaps with Ukraine, a source with knowledge on the matter has told Russia.

“High-ranking representatives from the UAE, having taken account the current situation in Ukraine, have turned to the Russian side with a proposal to assist in the exchange of detainees. The proposals submitted through UAE mediation are being taken account of while working out the lists of prisoners of war with the Ukrainian side,” the source said.

The UAE declared neutrality in the Ukraine crisis in February, declaring that it would like to see a political resolution to the conflict. The country’s flagship air carrier, Emirates, has refused to stop flying to Russia, and trade between Moscow and the Persian Gulf country has continued, with Dubai becoming a Switzerland-style safe haven for traders of Russian commodities and Russian tycoons.

During a trip to the UAE last week, British Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan took a veiled shot at Abu Dhabi over its position, calling on “all countries to stand alongside us” in “bringing in all sorts of sanctions and limitations” against Russia and its supporters.

Over 6,500 Ukrainian military personnel were in Russian and Donbass custody at the start of June, with the Russian MoD reporting on the surrender of between dozens and hundreds of troops on a daily basis in the weeks since.

The numbers of Russian and Donbass troops and militiamen in Ukrainian custody are more difficult to determine. In April, Kiev reported that it had about 600 Russian PoWs in custody. Russia has not confirmed these figures. While Russian and Donbass forces have guaranteed the safety and dignity of Ukrainians in their custody, and promised fair trails even for those accused of crimes, the fate of Russian and Donbass PoWs in Ukraine has sparked concerns amid reports of their torture and murder at the hands of ultranationalist volunteer militiamen.

Last month, United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine chief Matilda Bogner said the agency had “credible information of torture, ill-treatment and incommunicado detention by [the] Ukrainian Armed Forces of prisoners of war belonging to the Russian Armed Forces and affiliated armed groups.”

At least 11 prisoner swaps have been carried out by Russian and Ukrainian forces since March.