LUGANSK, February 4. /TASS/. Twelve service members from the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) have been released from Ukrainian captivity, LPR Human Rights Ombudswoman Viktoria Serdyukova told TASS on Saturday.

"Today, in a regular prisoner swap with Ukraine, 63 Russian service members were freed. Twelve of them are our fellowmen, fighters of the Lugansk People’s Republic," she said.

Earlier on Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that as a result of complicated negotiations, 63 soldiers of the Russian Armed Forces had been returned from the Kiev-controlled territory of Ukraine. Among them were individuals of "a sensitive category," whose exchange was made possible thanks to the mediation efforts of the United Arab Emirates.

Andrey Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s office, said that Kiev received 116 Ukrainian service members in the prisoner swap. Two of them are officers, and the rest are privates and sergeants.