Russia and Ukraine exchange talks for Nadiya Savchenko are making progress says source

Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine on a prisoner exchange for Ukrainian servicewoman Nadiya Savchenko are making progress, says a source speaking to news agency Interfax.

“Very intense but fruitful negotiations are currently underway across all channels. It cannot be ruled out that the two sides will agree to a mutual handing over of [several] individuals… a group for a group,” said the source.

The group possibly to be handed over to Russia would likely include Yevgeny Yerofeyev and Alexander Alexandrov—two Russian citizens detained by Ukrainian forces during a battle in the Luhansk region. Rumors continue to circulate that two Russian citizens now jailed in the United States, Viktor Bout and Konstantin Yaroshenko, may also be part of the group.

The source says any exchange for Bout and Yaroshenko would depend on “the principle of reciprocity” between the United States and Russia.

Nadezha Savchenko was recently sentenced by a Russian court to 22 years in prison for her alleged role in the murder of two Russian journalists, Igor Korneliuk and Anton Voloshin, and for her repeated illegal crossings of the Russia–Ukraine border.