Exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine: what is known

On Friday night, reports began to appear that an exchange of held persons had begun between Russia and Ukraine. In the morning, both in Moscow and Kiev announced that the exchange negotiations are still ongoing.

Фото: Depositphotos

What they said at night

Anna Islamova, an employee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, was the first to report the release of a number of Ukrainians. “The exchange is over: the sailors, [Oleg] Sentsov, [Nikolai] Karpyuk, [Vladimir] Balukh, [Pavel] Grib are flying home,” she wrote on Facebook.

Repost of this message was made by the new Prosecutor General of Ukraine Ruslan Ryaboshapka. And from his filing, the news was picked up by Russian, Ukrainian and world media.

Soon, the editor-in-chief of Ekho Moskvy radio, Alexey Venediktov, wrote in his telegram channel that the plane with the liberated Ukrainians was supposed to land in Kyiv at about five in the morning on Friday.

The publication “Krym.Realii”, in turn, reported that the relatives of the sailors were informed that they were allegedly already on the territory of Ukraine. Journalists and relatives of Ukrainians held in Russia gathered at Kiev Zhulyany airport.

What did they say in the morning

Neither in Moscow nor in Kiev the information that the exchange of prisoners is already ongoing, was not confirmed.

“Dear journalists, the complex process of hostage exchange negotiations continues. Be patient, hopefully not for long. Do not spread unverified information,” wrote Elena Gitlyanskaya, press secretary of the Security Service of Ukraine, on Facebook.

Gitlyanskaya later said that the exchange would not take place on Friday. “There is no clear date for the exchange. We will warn all journalists in advance when it will happen,” she explained to the BBC, answering a question about whether an exchange on Friday is possible and whether there is another clear date.

In a statement, the office of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that the process of mutual release of detainees is ongoing, and information about its completion is not true.

On the subject: How do political prisoners Ukrainians Oleg Sentsov and Alexander Kolchenko live in Russian colonies?

“This is not the first time we have seen information chaos caused by reference to unconfirmed information and numerous “sources.” We urge you to understand the consequences of disinformation: this is a game with the emotions of society,” the message says.

The Russian authorities also do not confirm the fact of the exchange of prisoners. Interfax agency, citing an informed source, said that the exchange of held persons has not yet begun, since it takes time to complete the necessary documents.

“The messages that appeared in telegram channels that Moscow and Kyiv have begun an exchange, and that a convoy with prisoners is moving to the Ostafyevo airport near Moscow, do not correspond to reality,” the agency’s interlocutor said. The fact that at 01:05 Moscow time a plane landed at the Ostafyevo airport near Moscow with its transponders turned off was reported at night by the Baza telegram channel.

Russian citizens held in Ukraine and preparing for exchange remain in pre-trial detention centers, lawyer Valentin Rybin told TASS. “Ukrainian prisoners are sitting at the base and in pre-trial detention centers. I don’t yet know that they are even moving towards an exchange today,” he said.

How to prepare

In August, media began to report that Moscow and Kiev had stepped up negotiations to exchange prisoners. On August 23 it became known that Tatyana Moskalkova, the Commissioner for Human Rights under the President of Russia, flew to Kiev. Sources RBC 22 August Reportedthat the Ukrainian ombudsman Lyudmila Denisova “is already in Russia.”

August 23, Kommersant newspaper Wrotethat by the end of the month the exchange is planned according to the formula “33 for 33” - 33 Russians for 33 Ukrainians, including all 24 sailors detained in November 2018 in the Kerch Strait area. On August 28, the press secretary of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Larisa Sargan announced the possibility of an exchange using the “35 to 35” formula.

On the subject: Sixth birthday in captivity: how the world congratulated Oleg Sentsov on the 43 anniversary

The exchange will not affect the director Oleg Sentsov, who in 2015 was convicted in Russia of 20 years on charges of terrorism, the publication emphasized. However, on Thursday, August 29, Russian media reported, citing anonymous sources, that Sentsov was transferred from a colony in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District to a pre-trial detention center in Moscow.

On the evening of Thursday, August 29, the executive secretary of the Public Monitoring Commission (POC) of Moscow, Ivan Melnikov, announced that Ukrainians Roman Sushchenko, Vladimir Balukh, Pavel Grib, Stanislav Klykh, Alexander Kolchenko and Evgeniy Panov were delivered to the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center from different colonies.

The day before, the Kiev Court of Appeal softened the preventive measure to the head of RIA Novosti-Ukraine Kirill Vyshinsky, accused of treason. He was released from the pre-trial detention center under a personal obligation.

Vyshinsky previously refused to admit his guilt and repeatedly stated that he would not participate in the exchange. Already after the decision of the Kiev court Sargan unveiled a photocopy of a statement in which, on behalf of Vyshinsky, consent is given to participate in the “mutual release of persons” and confirmation of readiness to leave Ukraine.

“Kirill is in Ukraine,” his lawyer Andrei Domansky told RIA Novosti on Friday. “He did not change his position on the exchange, which he voiced earlier, including in court.”

Who was expected from Ukraine

The fact that Russian citizens Maxim Odintsov and Alexander Baranov will be pardoned for their release, their lawyer Rybin told Interfax. Odintsov and Baranov were detained at the border of annexed Crimea, they received 14 and 13 years for desertion and treason (they moved from the Ukrainian army to the Russian).

“So it will be, this is a formal procedure for the possibility of release,” Rybin said, answering the question of whether he allows pardoning his clients.

Lawyer Rybin also said that a resident of Odessa, Yevgeny Mefedov, who participated in the events of 2 on August 2014 of the year, was acquitted of the riot case, after which he was arrested under the separatism article, was released from arrest.

In addition, lawyers reported Kyiv’s readiness to exchange former Berkut special forces fighter Alexander Sattarov and Russian citizen Alexey Sedikov, convicted of terrorism. Sedikov. reportedly wrote a petition for pardon addressed to the President of Ukraine.

Who was expected from Russia

Interfax reported that Moscow could transfer to Kiev not only those arrested and in jail, but also five serving their sentences in colonies.

According to the Memorial human rights center, the Ukrainians Balukh, Grib, Klykh and Kolchenko and Nikolai Karpyuk were delivered to the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center from the colonies (the delivery of the first four was later confirmed by the Public Monitoring Committee). They can be extradited to Ukraine to serve their sentences, Interfax’s interlocutor said.

These Ukrainians served their sentences in different colonies. In August, Balukh’s lawyer Olga Dinze reported that her client was transferred from the colony in Torzhok. And Karpyuk’s lawyer Alexey Baranovsky reported that his client left the Vladimir Central prison.

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that she has information on possible exchanges of detained persons between Ukraine and Russia, but cannot share it. “We believe in this case, despite all our openness, that all such issues should be resolved by professionals,” Zakharova said on the Rossiya-24 channel.

Negotiations Zelensky and Putin

Photo: president.gov.ua

On August 23, President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky announced that the first results on the exchange of held persons should appear in the coming days.

“I do this personally,” Zelensky said. — We are waiting for the results step by step, the first results should be in the coming days, I don’t want to make any guesses. I’ve been working on this for two months now, let me do my job, I promised the people of Ukraine that we will return the prisoners, we will return the sailors, we will stop the war.”

Two cases of telephone conversations between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been publicly reported. In early August, Zelensky called Putin asking him to influence the self-proclaimed republics of eastern Ukraine in order to stop shelling of Ukrainian positions.

Before this, they talked in July, also on the initiative of the Ukrainian side. Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov then reported that the heads of state discussed issues of settlement in eastern Ukraine and joint work on the return of persons held on both sides.

Read also on ForumDaily:

How ICE agents track down and arrest immigrants

Cat Therapy: A US prison uses cats to rehabilitate prisoners. A PHOTO

'I am already a lesser evil': how Lukashenko 25 years in power

Who is executed first after the resumption of the death penalty

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.