MOSCOW, August 7. /TASS/. The number of Ukrainian servicemen in Russian captivity who do not wish to return to Ukraine and are asking for political asylum is growing, security forces told TASS.
"It is noteworthy that we are talking about prisoners of war who, for whatever reason, wish to return to Ukraine and risk being drafted and sent to the front again. At the same time, the number of Ukrainians in Russian captivity who do not want to return to their homeland and request political asylum in Russia is growing. This is confirmed, among other things, by interrogations of the captives," the sources said.
Earlier, Vladimir Medinsky, presidential aide and head of the Russian delegation in talks with Ukraine, reported that Kiev had refused to release 1,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war in exchange for Russian prisoners, which made the second stage of the prisoner exchange difficult and prevented the start of the third stage.
A source in military-diplomatic circles told TASS that none of the thousands of prisoners of war Kiev has crossed off the exchange lists are officers. Most of them are soldiers and sailors.