Ukrainian families cross Europe to plead for prisoners held by Russia

Svitlana Bilous, a 34-year-old civic activist and the wife of a Ukrainian soldier missing in action, and Illia Illiashenko, a Ukrainian former prisoner of war who was captured by Russian forces in Mariupol in 2022, look at posters before their bus tour to Switzerland to advocate for Ukrainian soldiers in Russian captivity, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 12, 2024. REUTERS/Charlotte Bruneau

LUCERNE, Switzerland (Reuters) -Svitlana Bilous crossed half of Europe - from her home in eastern Ukraine to Switzerland - to highlight the plight of her missing husband and other prisoners held by Russia during an international summit on the Ukraine war.

She joined scores of other relatives of Ukrainian soldiers who waved banners and shouted slogans during a demonstration on the sidelines of the summit that sought to draw attention to the fate of troops who have disappeared on the battlefield.