Russia holding thousands of Ukrainian soldiers as prisoners of war

More than 3,500 Ukrainian soldiers are being held as prisoners of war by Russia, according to the Ukrainian Ministry for Reintegration on Friday.

In total, more than 4,300 Ukrainians have been confirmed as prisoners of war in Russia, including over 760 civilians. Their relatives are receiving financial support from the Ukrainian state.

For its part, Moscow has said more than 500 Russian soldiers are being held as prisoners of war in Ukraine.

It emerged in early November that Kyiv was preparing a second prison for Russian prisoners of war in the western part of the country.

The two facilities together offer space for around 900 prisoners, according to estimates.

Ukraine has been fending off a Russian invasion for almost 21 months.

Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinez says almost 2,600 prisoners of war and civilians have been handed over to Kyiv by Moscow within this period. It is not known how many prisoners of war Moscow has received in exchange.