Ukrainians Cautious After Russia-West Prisoner Swap - WP

The recent prisoner exchange between Russia and the West has stirred concern in Kyiv about its potential implications, the Washington Post reports.

Although President Volodymyr Zelensky and other top officials have not publicly commented, the complexity and significance of the deal have not gone unnoticed.

The Kremlin swiftly dismissed any speculation that this exchange might lead to peace talks regarding Ukraine. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said that the prisoner deal does not signal a shift towards negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials have expressed anxiety about the possibility of secret negotiations between the West and Moscow, fearing they might be excluded from crucial discussions.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Zelensky, stressed in an interview with The Washington Post that Ukraine must be a part of any agreements affecting its future, underscoring the nation's independence and influence.

“You won’t be able to agree upon something with Russia that concerns Ukraine without Ukraine,” Podolyak said.

“The price of the war is too high, Ukraine’s informational influence is too high and a wrongful termination of the war will bring tragedy to not only Ukraine.”

Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko voiced concerns that the prisoner exchange might set a troubling precedent.

“There are concerns that this does not become a trend,” Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said, adding that whatever is agreed upon “should be a joint position with Ukraine.”

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Some Ukrainians worry that the West's willingness to trade Russian criminals for innocent people could incentivise Moscow to capture more innocents.

Civil society activist Olena Halushka warned that such exchanges could perpetuate a cycle of hostage-taking and state-level terrorism.

“In exchange for innocent people detained illegally, Russia brings back home criminals who will soon return to subversive activities against the West,” Olena Halushka, a civil society activist, posted on X.

“This is not a ‘good will.’ This hostage-taking may enter a new cycle and last indefinitely, it is a state-level terrorism.”

In what some are calling the largest prisoner exchange since World War II, Russia traded 16 hostages from Western countries for 10 of its own, two of whom were minors, on Thursday afternoon, August 1, in Ankara. The swap was apparently coordinated by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT).

There had been rumors of a possible exchange for several weeks suggesting that discussions between the White House and the Kremlin via intermediaries were ongoing, but both sides held details close to their chests.

It has even alleged that agreement in principle had been reached earlier but were cancelled after the death in prison of Alexey Navalny who would have been included in the swap – some even saying he was murdered at President Putin’s instigation to prevent his release.

There had been no public announcement of where and when yesterday’s exchange would take place until the aircraft landed in Turkey’s capital.

Trump’s criticism is hardly surprising as he has frequently ridiculed Biden’s administration in failing to secure the release of Americans detained in Russia, specifically the journalist Gershkovich who had been detained in Russia for more than a year.

Asked about Trumps claims he would have brought the detainees home without giving anything to Russia, Biden replied: “Why didn’t he do it when he was president?”