People Above All: the People First campaign demands the release of prisoners of war

In November 2025, amid the intensification of potential negotiations to end Russia’s war against Ukraine, participants of the international People First campaign issued an open letter addressed to those involved in the diplomatic process. Among them are our colleague from Memorial, Oleg Orlov, Oleksandra Matviichuk from the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties, and 73 other member organizations of the initiative.

The letter emphasizes that any plan for a sustainable peace must place the humanitarian dimension at its core — human lives and human rights. Occupied territories are not abstract spaces but people’s homes, whose rights and safety require immediate protection. The release of all persons deprived of their liberty and/or displaced in connection with the conflict must be the first, unconditional, and mandatory step.

We are publishing the full text of the open letter.

OPEN LETTER

To: US President Donald Trump

Leaders of European Union Member States

The United Kingdom Prime Minister

Türkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Your Excellencies

As high-level talks aimed at ending Russia’s war against Ukraine advance, we are writing on behalf of People1st Campaign. Launched in January this year, the campaign brings together 73 Ukrainian, Russian, and international human rights organizations, including two Nobel Peace Prize Laureates — the Center for Civil Liberties (Ukraine) and Memorial (Russia) — united in calling for the release of all conflict related detainees.

We deeply appreciate international efforts to end the war in Ukraine, and we call on all parties involved in peace negotiations to ensure that any “peace plan” places the human dimension at its core.

Russia-occupied territories are not empty spaces—they are home to people and communities, including those who were forced to flee, leaving their livelihood behind. They are Ukrainian citizens whose safety and rights should be fully considered and protected in any settlement.

In line with the campaign’s mission, we urge all parties involved in negotiations to prioritize the release of conflict related detainees. These include Ukrainian civilians—men and women—unlawfully held by Russian authorities in detention facilities in Russia and Ukraine’s occupied territories. They are starved, denied medical assistance, and routinely subjected to torture, sexualized violence, and other forms of cruel and degrading treatment. They should have never been imprisoned and must be released immediately.

We further call for the earliest possible release and repatriation of all Ukrainian and Russian prisoners of war (POWs). We also note that the lives of Ukrainian POWs in Russian captivity are in peril, as they suffer brutal and systematic torture and other forms of ill treatment.

Russian political prisoners—those already sentenced or awaiting sentencing in retaliation for their anti-war speech or actions in support of Ukraine — must also be released and allowed to leave Russia should they wish.

Among all detainees, the most vulnerable must be prioritized: women, older people, individuals with disabilities or serious health conditions, civilians imprisoned for political reasons prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion, many of whom have already spent years in captivity, and Ukrainian children who were deported or forcibly transferred by Russian authorities — should be viewed as first priority.

We hope that all parties to the negotiations will make meaningful, timely progress so that all war detainees can soon return home.

You have the power to take a straightforward yet transformative humanitarian step: secure the release of  all conflict related detainees. This action, driven by your leadership, would prove that even in the darkest of crises, humanity and dignity can prevail.