DONETSK, December 26. /TASS/. Head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People Republic Alexander Zakharchenko intends to be personally present during the prisoner exchange, the DPR Defense Ministry told TASS on Friday.
The prisoner exchange can be held in the evening [December 26] on the “all for all” basis - 225 militias for 150 Ukrainian servicemen, the source said. However, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry adviser, Vasily Budik, said the prisoner exchange is possible no sooner than Saturday, December 27.
At the moment, the problem of choosing the place for the prisoner swap is being solved.
On December 25, Zakharchenko said the participants in the meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine had reached agreement on the prisoner swap.
“The Minsk talks continue, but it is early to talk about any agreements. The only thing I can say that we succeeded in reaching agreement on the exchange of prisoners on the ‘all for all’ basis - 150 for 225,” he said.
The prisoner exchange became one of the key issues of the Contact Group agreements reached in Minsk on September 5. Since September 12 the parties have exchanged several hundreds of prisoners.