When the Russian military retreated from the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson in November last year, they stole a number of prized items: paintings from local museums, World War Two memorabilia, monuments to 18th-century military commanders – and 2,000 Ukrainian prisoners.
Almost a year on, more than 1,500 Kherson prisoners still remain in prisons in Russia, while many others, who long ago completed their Ukraine-issued jail sentences, have been released but are unable to get home without a passport.
Ukraine argues that the transfer of its prisoners into Russia’s prison system was an example of ‘forced deportation’.
