4 minutes agoUkraine, Russia exchange prisoners for historic agreement
Periskopi(7 years ago)
(7 years ago)Russia and Ukraine have completed a long - awaited exchange of prisoners. The releases include 24 Ukrainian sailors and a “person of interest” for the crash of MH17 flight, which killed 298 people. The exchange is hoping to alleviate tensions between the two neighbouring countries. “We must take all necessary steps to complete this [...]
The releases include 24 Ukrainian sailors and a “person of interest” for the crash of MH17 flight, which killed 298 people.
The exchange is hoping to alleviate tensions between the two neighbouring countries.
“We must take all necessary steps to end this terrible fight”, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, welcoming Ukrainians to the airport.
Russia said it was happy that its citizens had returned home.
Relations between the two countries deteriorated dramatically in 2014, when Russia annexed the Ukraine Crime Peninsula and Russia-backed rebels started an uprising in two regions of eastern Ukraine.
More than 13,000 people have been killed in conflict in the Donnetsk and Luhansk regions.
In April, Ukrainians elected a new president. Zelensky said his top priority was the outcome of the conflict.
Russian officials have said that progress towards a release of prisoners is essential for improving “atosphere about resolving the Ukraine crisis”.
Talks on the extremely sensitive issue were kept in total secrecy, with Ukrainian and Russian officials stressing that any leak could harm the exchange.
