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Ukrainian government and pro-Russia separatists complete prisoner swap

By REUTERS

DECEMBER 29, 2019 23:33

Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists in the east completed a large-scale prisoner swap on Sunday after bussing scores of detainees in the five-year conflict to an exchange point in the breakaway Donbass region.

The swap should help build confidence between the two sides, who are wrangling over how to implement a peace deal after the loss of more than 13,000 lives, but major disagreements remain and full normalization is far off.

Ukraine said 76 pro-government detainees were handed over, while separatists said they took 120 of their prisoners during the swap at a checkpoint near the industrial town of Horlivka.

"The main thing is that the people are at home before the New Year ... I am happy, I think they are too," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, greeting the returnees with tearful relatives at a Kiev airport.

He thanked fellow leaders of the so-called "Normandy Four" group - Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany - for helping mediate the swap during talks in Paris earlier this month.

Some Ukrainians remained in custody both in Russia and Donbass and may figure in future swaps, Zelenskiy said.

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