The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has introduced the position of Ambassador at Large for Prisoners of War and Missing Persons

A new position has been created in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine – an ambassador at large, who will deal with issues of prisoners of war, illegally detained civilians and missing persons. The initiative belongs to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Andriy Sybiga.

Dmytro Ponomarenko has been appointed to this position, who has significant diplomatic experience, in particular, he worked as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Korea and part-time in Mongolia in 2021-2025.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasizes that the key task of the new ambassador will be to coordinate efforts to find effective international legal mechanisms to influence Russia in order to stop torture and ill-treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war.

Also among the priorities are promoting the release of Ukrainian defense personnel and civilians deprived of their liberty, as well as protecting the rights of missing persons. The work will be carried out in cooperation with the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War and other institutions, in particular within the framework of the plan of joint actions and international advocacy for 2026.

The creation of this position is another step towards strengthening the state’s systematic work in the field of protecting citizens who have suffered as a result of armed aggression and increasing the effectiveness of international pressure on the aggressor state.