By KYIV. March 2 (Interfax-Ukraine) – More than 1,000 employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine remain in captivity of Russia at the present time, Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Ihor Klymenko has said.
“Quite a lot. I can say that more than 1,000 people,” Klymenko said, answering the question of how many people remain in captivity directly from the Interior Ministry, during an interview recorded on February 21 and shown on the air of the National Telethon on Wednesday.
According to the minister, the Interior Ministry officers who are captured by Russia are gradually returning home on an exchange basis. “The headquarters, created under the Main Intelligence Agency works every day, around the clock, does everything possible to ensure that there are as many such exchanges as possible. It is the duty of all of us to ensure that every Ukrainian who is captured returns to his family,” Klymenko said.
The minister said he and other representatives of the leadership of the Interior Ministry are meeting with those returning from captivity.
“We first provide them with medical assistance. On my instructions, high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, along with representatives of other services, come to such exchanges in order to organize the life of these people near the place of exchange, and then we distribute them to medical institutions in order to make sure that everything is in order with their health. After that, of course, we organize the rehabilitation of these people, if necessary, treatment abroad, if necessary, then prosthetics,” Klymenko said.
