Iryna Vereshchuk, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, met with representatives of the Ukraine 5 AM Coalition.

The subject of discussion was the return of deported and taken hostage Ukrainian civilians.

In international law there is no such thing as a civilian hostage. This blocks the process of their return. In addition, the aggressor country conceals any information about them in order to avoid responsibility for this crime.

Participants stressed the need to develop a systematic work of public authorities to search and locate places of detention of persons who can be considered as civilian hostages.

To this end, it is necessary to designate a body to formulate and implement state policy in the field of protection and return of civilians deprived of their liberty by the aggressor state.

Participants also discussed assistance to civilians returning from captivity, as they, like prisoners of war, need to be provided with comprehensive assistance. This includes psychological support, rehabilitation, humanitarian aid, etc.

“We must return everyone. Prisoners of war, children and civilians alike. To do this, we must work together to develop such an algorithm,” concluded Iryna Vereshchuk.