In May 23 prisoner exchange, Kyiv traded dozens of Ukrainian civilians convicted of collaboration, treason, and voicing online support for Russia’s invasion

On May 23, Russia and Ukraine exchanged 270 captured soldiers and 120 imprisoned civilians each. According to “Khochu k Svoim,” Ukraine’s state-run project that coordinates the exchange of convicts, 70 of the civilians transferred to Russia had been found guilty of crimes such as “collaboration, state treason, and terrorism.” In a Telegram post, the project said these individuals “had long expressed a desire to leave, saw no future for themselves in Ukraine, and identified as Russian nationals.”

Khochu k Svoim has published profiles on its website for 31 of the 120 civilians sent to Russia in Friday’s exchange.

Among them is Oleksandr Tarnashynsky, according to the news outlet iStories. RBC-Ukraine identifies him as an associate of pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk, a close ally of Vladimir Putin. In 2022, Ukraine’s Security Service arrested Tarnashynsky on suspicion of plotting to overthrow Ukraine’s constitutional order and collaborating with Russian intelligence. Investigators allege he established charitable foundations and organizations in Ukraine to funnel Russian funding into efforts to discredit the state authorities and prepare for a government overthrow. In 2023, Tarnashynsky was sentenced to five years in prison. Another individual handed over to Moscow was Vasyl Mekheda, a former employee of Ukraine’s Cabinet Secretariat. Ukrainian investigators claim he worked with Russian intelligence from 2006 to 2022, passing along classified documents.

According to Mediazona, the 31 identified prisoners include individuals imprisoned for supporting Russia’s invasion in social media posts — a felony under Ukraine’s Criminal Code.

Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova stated that Friday’s exchange also included “political prisoners,” though she did not name them.