Results can be every day: an interview with Podolyak about changes at the front and the exchange of prisoners Alexandra Sadovaya Ekaterina Solyar
Ukraine is expecting F-16 fighters/Getty Images
Exchange of a military man, which has allegedly collaborated with Russia
The military, who allegedly collaborated with the occupiers and were involved in the beating of Azov fighters, returned from captivity, wanted to obtain Russian citizenship and ended up on an exchange in Ukraine. Why did Russia do this, to discredit these exchanges? To show those who are in captivity that they can be prisoners in Ukraine, that “in Ukraine no one is waiting” or “wants to punish more”?
Russia will use any situation for certain psychological and information work. But exchanges are sacred. In any case, everyone who has Ukrainian citizenship must be exchanged. Now I’m talking about prisoners of war.
Because there is also a separate program – the exchange of civilians. Russia uses it, civilians are also arrested. They go through torture.
Exchanges must be carried out in any case, everyone must be taken within these lists. Because there are many different lists, platforms where negotiations are held. The lists are constantly being updated. And we take them. This should not in any way affect the emotional perception of the exchange process itself. Exchanges must be carried out. This is sacred, these are all our people.
Next, measures are taken to check the people who were in captivity. This is common practice. Any cases you are talking about will be tracked, the corresponding work will be carried out by the counterintelligence of the SBU or GUR. This will all be legally implemented. But this should not affect the exchange process itself. That is, people must be taken, and then legal work must be carried out. Heroes are Heroes. And people who behaved strangely in captivity will have legal responsibility. And this should not discredit the exchange processes.
Will Russia use this? Yes, Russia today will launch any information attacks on Ukraine. Will this affect the return or non-return of people from captivity? Our exchange processes are already complex, only with the involvement of intermediaries. In this case we are talking about the United Arab Emirates. If we are talking about children, then Qatar is more involved. There are a number of countries that are actively participating and these exchange processes are still going on. There were several months when Russia categorically refused, using this fact for appropriate information work.
Will Russia mock our prisoners of war, civilian prisoners? Yes, because it is waging a genocidal type of war. It does not rely on any conventions on the treatment of prisoners of war, so it treats them as harshly as possible, unfortunately.
Will it use any elements as part of information counterwork against Ukraine? Yes, it will. But this does not mean that out of 93 people, 91 or 92 people should continue to be in captivity because some strange name appeared on the lists. As for the strange names, we still need to find out to the end what and how happened legally.
Zelensky's visit to Great Britain
There is a photo of the meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Valeriy Zaluzhny in Great Britain. What to expect from the Ukrainian leader's visit to Britain?
First of all, the President meets with the British Ambassador – this is absolutely normal, absolutely correct. Second. Britain, in my opinion, is our most important partner from a value-ideological point of view. From the first day of the war, Great Britain correctly placed all the accents.
Zelensky and Zaluzhny in Great Britain July 18/Vladimir Zelensky
Britain regardless of the head government, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense clearly understands all the risks that Russia generates today in full. He understands this most clearly. Understands that this is practically an attempt by Russia to dominate through violence in Europe.
Great Britain, like Ukraine, is maximally interested in zeroing out the modern Russian political vertical. That is, not the borders of 1991, but precisely the transformation of the Russian political system. Then Europe, Britain, Ukraine get a chance for a more or less correctly structured, guaranteed future.
And Britain will help Ukraine in full, regardless of all these informational and diplomatic speculations and so on. The UK also understands that the Russian negotiation process is a fiction, that Russia understands only force, that Ukraine’s European partners must maximize assistance and speed it up, that it is necessary to provide any permission to Ukraine for any attacks on concentration areas, regardless of where they are located at the same air bases that it is necessary to increase investment potential for military production in Ukraine.
Britain understands and advocates for all this. The main thing is to advocate at different levels. About the same Boris Johnson, who, by the way, at the Republican Party convention in Pennsylvania actively worked with Donald Trump, explaining his position on Ukraine and why it should be the same as Johnson’s. This is normal, this is advocacy at different levels in the global political process. This is what Britain is doing for us.
I am not getting specific in terms of certain agreements, financial or military assistance. The President always takes a pragmatic approach to certain visits and receives the maximum possible resource packages that Ukraine needs. But I take more global dimensions. In this global dimension, Great Britain is Ukraine’s most reliable partner.