Kyiv exchanges prisoners with Eastern Ukrainian breakaway regions

The government of Ukraine has completed a prisoner exchange with the governments of the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DNR and LNR), representatives on all sides confirmed.

Nine individuals passed from the DNR to Ukraine in exchange for 10 prisoners returned to the DNR. One man held by Ukraine declined to return to the DNR.

The LNR, meanwhile, delivered 11 prisoners to Ukraine and accepted four in return, including two Russian citizens.

The first major prisoner exchange between the Ukrainian government and its breakaway regions in the last two years took place in late December, with 75 people returning to Ukrainian-controlled territory and 124 returning to the Donbas.

In September 2019, Russia and Ukraine exchanged prisoners in the “35 for 35” format. The exchange included Oleg Sentsov, a film director whose 20-year prison sentence on terrorism charges attracted international advocacy.