The Russian ombudsman suggests not to view the Ukrainian Armed Forces as representatives of an "evil empire": details (video).

The Human Rights Commissioner of Russia, Tatyana Moskalkova, suggested that Russians should change their attitude towards Ukrainians. The official spoke about conversations with individuals who had interacted with soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to these individuals, the Ukrainians did not torture them; instead, they fed and assisted them. A segment of Moskalkova's statement was published on the Telegram channel of the Russian media RTVI.

Moskalkova addressed the State Duma of the Russian Federation, sharing her thoughts about Ukrainians. These thoughts emerged after discussions with Russian soldiers who returned from captivity and residents of the Kursk region. The captives recounted how the Ukrainian soldiers shared food with them. Residents near Kursk spoke about how Ukrainians transported them to Ukraine, brought them to the border with Belarus, and then they returned to Russia peacefully. The official urged Russians not to "dehumanize" and to avoid viewing Ukrainians as representatives of an "evil empire." In Moskalkova's view, Ukrainians are "diverse."

A segment of the video does not reveal how the State Duma reacted to the suggestion to avoid dehumanization. It remains unclear whether the Investigative Committee of Russia has opened a case against Moskalkova for "discrediting" the war and the Russian Armed Forces.

Additionally, in August, the Human Rights Commissioner of Russia reached out for the first time to Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets regarding prisoner exchanges. During a telethon, Lubinets stated that prior to this, Russians had announced the cessation of any negotiations on this topic. Negotiations resumed a week after reports of a breakthrough by the Ukrainian Armed Forces into the Kursk region and that Ukrainians had captured a certain number of conscripts from the Russian Armed Forces.

As a reminder, in December, Lubinets reported on war crimes committed by the Russian Armed Forces and the number of executions carried out by Russian soldiers. One such execution occurred on January 5, 2025, as reported by the Ukrainian Prosecutor's Office.