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.

Respectfully,

Oleksandra Matviichuk, Head of the Center for Civic Liberties (Ukraine), 2022 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

Oleg Orlov, Head of the Memorial Human Rights Defense Center (Russia), 2022 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

And 73 organizations of the People1st Initiative People First