Rebels in E. Ukraine say ready to release hostages

Representatives of pro-independence insurgents in eastern Ukraine said on Wednesday they stand ready to free government soldiers from their captivity.

Igor Plotnytsky, the self-styled leader of the self-proclaimed Lugansk republic, said he has ordered the release of all prisoners held on the territory controlled by Lugansk rebels by Jan. 7, when Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas.

Plotnytsky has put no conditions for the release, saying that his decision to free the captives is just a goodwill gesture on the Christmas Eve.

"We are ready to resolve all the differences at the negotiating table, without bloodshed, without the tears of mothers and children," Plotnytsky wrote in a statement.

Meanwhile, Daria Morozova, the self-styled ombudsman of the self-proclaimed Donetsk republic said that the rebels in Donetsk are also ready to release Ukrainian troops they have been holding, but only if Kiev frees insurgent fighters.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has not commented on a possible prisoner exchange with the rebels, but the country's senior security official said he doesn't rule out that a swap of hostages could happen in the coming days.

"The Christmas holidays, which are beginning, is a good reason for us to settle the issue of the release of the hostages," Yury Tandyt, the aid of the head of the Ukrainian Security Service, told reporters.

Currently, at least 140 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians are held in rebel captivity, Tandyt said, without giving the number of captives held by the government army.

The prisoner swap is a key part of the Minsk ceasefire agreement, which is aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine that has claimed the lives of more than 9,000 people. Endi