Kiev and Donbas Republics Exchange Prisoners

Dec. 29, 2019 (EIRNS)—The prisoner exchange between Kiev and the two Donbas self-declared republics,as originally agreed on at the Dec. 9 Normandy Four summit in Paris, took place today. A statement issued by the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that 76 people were freed to Ukraine by the two republics while, according to TASS, Ukraine released 124 people. The exchange took place at the Mayorsk entry-exit checkpoint—an area referred to as the “gray zone” in the Ukrainian media—in Donetsk region beginning at 11 a.m. Kiev time (0900 UTC).

The topic of the prisoner swap came up during a phone call, today, between Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “The sides gave a positive assessment of the prisoner exchange in the all-identified-for-all identified format that took place today in the Donetsk region,” the Kremlin press service said, reported TASS.

“Today’s event is a step towards further implementation of the entire package of humanitarian and political measures committed to paper in the Minsk agreements,” said Boris Gryzlov, Russia’s representative on the Trilateral Contact Group. “We hope that now Kiev will be able to proceed to the implementation of its political commitments and agree, within the Contact Group, all the legal aspects of Donbas’ special status, including its enshrining in the constitution.”