President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with relatives and friends of Ukrainians illegally detained in the Russian Federation and held captive by pro-Russia militants in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as Crimea.
"We invited you to listen, exchange thoughts and understand how we can speed up the return of our men. Thank you for coming here," Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted.
The Head of State told that in the past few days he had held meetings with Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada for Human Rights Lyudmyla Denisova, Chief of the General Staff Ruslan Khomchak and former representatives of Ukraine in the Trilateral Contact Group in order to get himself acquainted with the issue of the liberation of Ukrainians.
The President emphasized the importance of cooperation between the authorities, relatives of prisoners of war and representatives of the public struggling for their liberation.
"We need a consolidated position and coordination of efforts of all human rights activists, representatives of civic organizations, volunteers for the return of our captives home," Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.
The participants of the meeting also noted the importance of adopting a draft law on the status of prisoners of war.