Ukrainian prisoners in Russia are forced to tell their families that Ukraine refuses to release them

"There are cases when we manage to return many soldiers from unknown locations. Information about their location is not a determining factor for their release. The enemy manipulates the families of the prisoners, forcing them to call and say that the Russian side offers them for exchange, but Ukraine does not want to take them. This is an outright manipulation. Negotiations on the release of the defenders of the Chornobyl exclusion zone, as well as all our men and women, are ongoing. We are ready to take them all as soon as the aggressor country agrees to it," said the representative of the headquarters.

The meeting was attended by several National Guard soldiers from military unit 3041 who were released.

"In the pre-trial detention center, they told me that I, as an officer, face 15 years in prison in my home country for high treason. They offered me a Russian passport instead. Everyone is subjected to psychological pressure. Almost everyone is offered Russian citizenship," said one of the released defenders.

Those who have returned advise during such calls, when soldiers read pre-rehearsed texts, to simply tell the main news from Ukraine - that everything is fine, their families are alive, and everything is being done to liberate them.