Ukraine has returned 19 of its citizens who have been kept in the temporary occupied districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
“Of course, quarantine restrictions brought about by the coronavirus infection have affected greatly the negotiation process. It’s proved to be difficult. But, as you see, the joint effort of all those involved in this important job has produced a positive result”, said Lyudmyla Denysova, the authorized human rights representative of the Ukrainian Parliament. She has stressed that the liberation of all Ukrainian citizens who are illegally kept in Russia, at the temporarily occupied Crimea, the Donetsk and Luhansk regions is the priority.
The Office of the President has released a statement which reads, “For the President of Ukraine and the Ukrainian authority as a whole, everyone who is kept prisoner in the occupied districts of Ukraine or in the other country is of great value. Ukraine must return all of its citizens”.
The statement has emphasized the fact that it is the third time that prisoners have been exchanged since President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been in office. The first exchange took place last September when 35 Ukrainians were released, and 76 people were returned home during the second prisoner’s swap that was held last December.
It’s been stressed that the current release of 19 prisoners demonstrates the efficiency of the Zelenskyy strategy and Ukraine’s commitment to the agreements reached at the Normandy Four summit in December of 2019.
The Office of the President has noted that talks will be continued to release all Ukrainians who are illegally kept in the occupied Crimea and in Russia.
The agreement in principle concerning the next stage of prisoners’ exchange was reached by the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) consisting of representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The TCG working meetings took place April 6 to 8 of this year.
In the photo: the released Ukrainians.
The newspaper Holos Ukrainy
