German MP Michael Gahler addressed the European Parliament

MP Michael Gahler in the European Parliament: The fate of Ukrainians under Russian control is appalling. In the photo on the right, Konstantin Zinovkin

He outlined the problem of Ukrainians being held captive by the Russian Federation.

Here is an excerpt from his speech:

If we look at the physical condition of most of the released Ukrainians during the prisoner exchange, and then listen to their stories, we can conclude that Russia is in no way fulfilling its obligations to treat these prisoners humanely. Therefore, we must demand that Russia grant international Red Cross representatives permanent access to the prisoner camps and punish the weapons teams responsible for the most serious human rights violations against prisoners of war.

Even less attention is paid to the arbitrarily arrested civilians in the Russian–occupied zone of Ukraine. It is best to illustrate this with an example. Here I mention the fate of Konstantin Zinovkin from Melitopol, who was arrested on May 12, 2023, under the pretext of violating curfew. On June 04, 2023, the family was informed that he had confessed to wanting to blow up a man. On October 29, 2023, it was shown on Russian television. In the spring of the same year, several court sessions were held in Rostov. He should be released because he is innocent, just like thousands of other people.

Release these people, Mr. Putin.