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Potential prisoner swap with Ukraine to include 12 Russian citizens, says lawyer

The date of the swap still remains vague, according to the attorney

Lawyer Valentin Rybin Sergii Kharchenko/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

Lawyer Valentin Rybin

© Sergii Kharchenko/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

MOSCOW, August 29. /TASS/. The possible exchange of detainees between Russia and Ukraine will involve 12 Russian citizens, said the lawyer for the Russians, Valentin Rybin, on Thursday.

"In the specified case there are citizens of the Russian Federation who were either involved in events in southeastern Ukraine or were detained, like Maxim Odintsov and Alexander Baranov, on charges of state treason. So, we say that 12 nationals of the Russian Federation may take part in the possible exchange," he said on the TV channel Rossiya-24 live.

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Apart from Odintsov and Baranov, the lawyer named Yevgeny Mefedov, Igor Kimakovsky and Ruslan Bedzhiyev who are charged under "politically motivated criminal proceedings." Asked about the total number of Russians detained in Ukraine, the lawyer answered: "There is certainly no such information, we are speaking about hundreds of people."

Commenting on the possible date of exchange, the lawyer noted, "It is unknown yet, it is being dragged out each time. It is hard to say when the swap will take place."

Last week Director of the Center for Current Policy Alexei Chesnakov, who is close to the negotiation process on the Ukrainian settlement, stated the possibility of a fast swap of prisoners, including Ukrainian sailors, between Ukraine and Russia. The Ukrainian media also reported that the exchange would be carried out under the formula "33 for 33." Russian Commissioner for Human Rights Tatyana Moskalkova visited Kiev in the light of the events, but the agenda of her visit was not disclosed. On Wednesday, Kiev’s court released RIA Novosti Ukraine Editor-in-Chief Kirill Vyshinsky.

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