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Russian-Ukrainian prisoner swap put off, attorney says

There is no pardon decree yet, according to the lawyer

KIEV, August 28. /TASS/. The Russian-Ukrainian prisoner exchange has been put off indefinitely, Valentin Rybin, the defense attorney of several Russian nationals convicted in Ukraine, informed TASS.

"The prisoner swap has been put off. There is no pardon decree yet. There is every likelihood that there are certain forces in Vladimir Zelensky’s office that want to derail the exchange," he said.

Rybin earlier said that the date for the prisoner swap had been agreed on, declining to provide more details. At the same time, the attorney who represents the interests of Russian citizens Maxim Odintsov, Alexander Baranov and Yevgeny Mefedov noted that the final lists of individuals who were expected to be exchanged "were not approved yet, and everything could change." He assured, however, that Mefedov, Odintsov and Baranov remained on the list.

Last week, Director of the Russian Center for Current Politics Alexei Chesnakov said that Moscow and Kiev could soon hold the next prisoner exchange that would include the Ukrainian sailors arrested following the Kerch Strait incident.

Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova travelled to Kiev on Friday. However, the agenda of her visit remains unknown.