“It’s very important that we do not give the Russians ammunition to paint these guys as mercenaries,” they told The Telegraph. “It will be an exchange,” Mr Prystaikos told BBC News. “The important question is what the price will be for this, because the Russians were talking about exchanging some Ukrainian MPs for them, especially for those who, I understand now, have been working for them all these years.”
“These are our people”
He said the British had been targeted by Russia because of the UK’s “clear position” in “supporting Ukraine”. However, Mr. Pristaikos clarified that the men, who lived in Ukraine for several years, “are our people”, adding that they have contracts with the armed forces, they lived in Ukraine before, so they are legally there. “We expect the Russians to remember that these are our people, they are now prisoners of war and they should be treated as prisoners of war – the same way we treat the Russians in our captivity.” Ms Truss spoke twice on Friday with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba to “ensure the release of prisoners of war held by Russian proxies”. “The verdict against them is a clear violation of the Geneva Convention,” she said in a statement. It is understandable that the government is talking to “all levels” with the Ukrainian government about the issue, with a lot of work being done through informal backchannels. “We are not leaving any steps up and we are exploring all the boulevards,” said a source, confirming that the United Kingdom had not ruled out the possibility of calling the Russian ambassador.
The Minister of Defense is visiting Ukraine
Ben Wallace revealed on Friday that he had paid an unannounced visit to Ukraine, where he met with Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, and Alexei Reznik, Wallace, the Ukrainian counterpart. A source confirmed that it was “possible” for Mr. Wallace to arrange the arrest of the two men with Zelenski directly during his visit. They added that the main point of the talks was to ensure that the support currently offered by the United Kingdom remains relevant and that Ukraine remains in a position to fight in three months. Mr. Zelensky gave him something that looked like a signed and framed collection of stamps “Russian warship, go alone.”
