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Donetsk republic human rights envoy says Kiev keeps 1,500 prisoners

Only 250 of them are in fact militia fighters
Prisoner exchange in Ukraine (archive) Mikhail Pochuyev/TASS
Prisoner exchange in Ukraine (archive)
© Mikhail Pochuyev/TASS

MOSCOW, May 12. /TASS/. The Ukrainian side is keeping 1,500 prisoners, human rights envoy of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Daria Morozova said on Tuesday.

She said only 250 people are militia, and the rest are civilians, the Donetsk News Agency reported.

Earlier, she told reporters the Ukrainian side had been detaining civilians aged between 40 and 65 to form up "a bank of prisoners for further exchange."

A February 12 peace deal struck in Minsk, Belarus, by leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France envisaged a ceasefire between Ukrainian forces and people’s militias starting February 15.

This was to be followed by withdrawal of heavy weapons from the line of military engagement by at least 15 kilometers (9 miles), prisoner release and agreement for international observers to monitor the truce.