Kiev releases 15 rebel supporters in goodwill gesture
Xinhua, December 30, 2016 Adjust font size:
The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) said Thursday it has released 15 supporters of pro-independence insurgents in a goodwill gesture aimed at reviving the stalled prisoner swap.
"We stand ready to make concessions on this issue to speed up the return of our people to their families," Vasyl Grytsak, the head of the SBU, said in a statement.
The government has also offered the rebel leadership to free 228 others insurgents in exchange for 58 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians before the Orthodox Christmas, which is celebrated on Jan. 7, Grytsak said.
The rebel-run DAN news agency has confirmed that the government has handed 10 supporters of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and five supporters the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic to insurgent representatives.
In the meantime, the agency said that the rebel leadership will not accept the prisoner swap formula proposed by Kiev, insisting on the "all-for-all" exchange.
The prisoner swap is a key part of the Minsk ceasefire agreement, designed to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine that has killed some 10,000 people since April 2014. Endit