Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists on Wednesday began the largest prisoner exchange in three years, with more than 300 traded between both sides.
Dec. 27 (UPI) — Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists on Wednesday began the largest prisoner exchange in three years, with more than 300 traded between both sides.
Wednesday’s exchange marked the first prisoner trade between Kyiv and Moscow-led forces in more than a year, as 74 out of 168 Ukrainian prisoners of war held in Russian-held Donbas were freed. In return, Ukraine released Russian 246 prisoners.
The swap was carried out near Horlivka, a city in the eastern Donetsk region.
Among those released were journalists, bloggers and activists who had been accused of spying or treason. Twenty-nine of those freed refused to return to pro-Russian regions, Kiev said.
The swap was confirmed on Monday when the head of the Russian Orthodox church, Patriarch Kirill, met with pro-Russia separatist leaders at Moscow’s Danilovsky monastery.
“Nothing is more important than to bring our people home,” Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko said .
According to Poroshenko, the released prisoners would get proper medical assistance and monetary aid to speed up their transition back home.
A representative for the Russian-separatists, Olga Kobtseva, thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for the exchange.
“We hope it will continue, for not all held captives are released, from neither side,” Kobtseva said.
On Nov. 15, Putin made his first official contact with the heads of the breakaway republics and urged separatist leaders, including Oleksandr Zakharchenko, to exchange prisoners with the Ukrainian government.
There were 368 pro-Russian fighters held prisoner in Ukrainian territory and 168 Ukrainians held in Russian-occupied parts of Donbas. After the swap, 94 Ukrainians remained in Russian captivity.
More than 10,000 people have been killed and 1.5 million displaced in Ukraine since fighting began four years ago.
Earlier this month, U. S. President Donald Trump approved the export of weapons sales to Ukraine to fight against Russian-backed separatist groups.
