Ukraine separatists say to swap prisoners with Kiev Sunday
Swap would come three months after Ukraine carried out a long-awaited exchange with Russia of 35 prisoners each
Ukrainian servicemen who were made prisoners wait during a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and pro-Russia rebels on the check-point near the city of Gorlivka. PHOTO: AFP
MOSCOW:
Ukrainian authorities and pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country have agreed to swap several dozen prisoners on Sunday, the self-declared rebel republic of Donetsk said.
"Kiev and the Donbass (a term used to refer to rebel-held eastern Ukraine) have reached an accord on an exchange of prisoners... this Sunday December 29," Donetsk government spokeswoman Daria Morozova said in a statement.
There was no immediate confirmation from Kiev, but both sides said earlier this month they would carry out a prisoner exchange by the end of the year, following high-profile peace talks in Paris.
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The swap would come three months after Ukraine carried out a long-awaited exchange with Russia of 35 prisoners each.
More than 13,000 people have been killed and one million have fled their homes since pro-Russia militias in eastern Ukraine launched a bid for independence in 2014 -- kicking off a conflict that deepened Russia's estrangement from the West.
At the Paris summit on December 23, the leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine agreed to implement a full ceasefire and proceed with a new withdrawal of forces from conflict zones by March 2020.
Ukrainian authorities and pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country have agreed to swap several dozen prisoners on Sunday, the self-declared rebel republic of Donetsk said.
"Kiev and the Donbass (a term used to refer to rebel-held eastern Ukraine) have reached an accord on an exchange of prisoners... this Sunday December 29," Donetsk government spokeswoman Daria Morozova said in a statement.
There was no immediate confirmation from Kiev, but both sides said earlier this month they would carry out a prisoner exchange by the end of the year, following high-profile peace talks in Paris.
US moved to freeze Ukraine aid 90 minutes after Trump phone call
The swap would come three months after Ukraine carried out a long-awaited exchange with Russia of 35 prisoners each.
More than 13,000 people have been killed and one million have fled their homes since pro-Russia militias in eastern Ukraine launched a bid for independence in 2014 -- kicking off a conflict that deepened Russia's estrangement from the West.
At the Paris summit on December 23, the leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine agreed to implement a full ceasefire and proceed with a new withdrawal of forces from conflict zones by March 2020.