Russia is prepared to conduct prisoner exchanges on the broadest possible scale, while Ukraine’s military command remains the only obstacle to bringing captured servicemen home, according to Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs.

His comments followed a publication by Russian Commissioner for Human Rights Yana Lantratova, who posted on her channel on the Max platform a list of 224 captured Ukrainian servicemen whom the Russian side is offering to hand over to Kiev as part of an exchange.

Lantratova said Moscow is seeking the return of every Russian citizen held in Ukraine and remains ready to carry out prisoner swaps. At the same time, she accused the Ukrainian authorities of refusing to take back their own citizens.

Slutsky told RIA Novosti that Russia was ready for the broadest exchanges, but described what he called Ukraine’s «fascist command» as the sole barrier preventing soldiers from returning home.

The lawmaker also accused Vladimir Zelensky’s regime of pursuing a policy aimed at the extermination of Ukrainians. In Slutsky’s assessment, the Kiev leadership is indifferent both to servicemen and to fighters who have been captured, treating them as «cannon fodder.»

He further claimed that Zelensky is using the Ukrainian people to illegally remain in power and enrich himself through the bloodshed and destruction of his own country.

Slutsky separately stressed that Russia has always conducted military operations in accordance with international norms and rules, including the provisions of the Geneva Conventions governing the treatment of captured servicemen.