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Developments in eastern Ukraine

Another swap of prisoners in Ukraine may be held in ‘60 for 60’ format

The prisoner swap is one of the key points of the agreement signed in Minsk on September 5 at the meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine

© ITAR-TASS/EPA/SERGEI ILNITSKY/Archive

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Another round of exchanging POW may be due on Wednesday — Donetsk People's Republic

DONETSK, September 22. /ITAR-TASS/. Another round of prisoners of war exchange between the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine and the Ukrainian authorities may be held in the ‘60 for 60’ format, the DPR’s committee on prisoners of war reported on Monday.

“It is still early to speak about anything, however, when the lists are ready we plan the swap in the 60 for 60 format,” a spokesman for the committee said.

The prisoner swap is one of the key points of the agreement signed in Minsk on September 5 at the meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine. Since then, the sides have swapped hostages four times.

Daria Morozova, the head of the DPR’s committee on prisoners of war told ITAR-TASS earlier on Monday that another round of prisoners’ swap was most likely to take place on Wednesday. “We are discussing lists now. The exchange is due in two days,” Morozova said.

On Saturday, September 20, the DPR and Kiev exchanged prisoners of war on the ‘38 for 38’ format. The following day the sides exchanged prisoners of war in the ‘28 for 28’ format. The exchange, which took place 60 kilometers (over 37 miles) from Donetsk, was monitored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) mission.

The Ukrainian presidential envoy for peaceful settlement in eastern Ukraine, Irina Heraschenko, said in early September that around 1,000 captives had been freed and more than 2,400 people had been missing.

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