Ukraine's parliament wants to change procedure for exchanging PoWs: proposed amendments

The Verkhovna Rada proposes to amend the Criminal Code on the procedure for the exchange of prisoners of war, which was widely condemned in Ukraine. The relevant bill №7436 was registered on June 6.

The bill proposes to close criminal proceedings and exempt servicemen from punishment, if a decision was made to exchange them. If the exchange did not take place — the court will send the convict to serve his sentence.

The document also allows for cases when the military are detained again after the exchange during the fighting in Ukraine — such soldiers will be sent to serve the entire sentence.

Currently, the document has been sent to the relevant committee for consideration. After it is endorsed by the committee, the bill should be submitted to parliament.

Captives and convicts

In Ukraine, several Russian servicemen have already been sentenced to imprisonment: for example, 21-year-old Vadim Shishimarin has been sentenced to life in prison for killing a civilian in the Sumy Oblast. Two service members who fired on the Kharkiv Oblast from Grad systems were sentenced to 11 years and 6 months in prison.

In addition, in early May, the government allocated UAH 43.7 million ($1.48 million) to hold Russian prisoners in camps and specific premises.