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Ukraine and Russia still haven’t confirmed prisoner swap formula, says attorney

The attorney confirmed that 12 Russian citizens have been pardoned, while the rest will be released due to "a change in measure of restraint or in the plea agreement"

KIEV, September 6. /TASS/. Ukraine and Russia still have not approved the formula on prisoner swap between both countries, attorney Valentin Rybin, who protects the interests of several Russian citizens detained in Ukraine, told TASS on Friday.

"There is no exact formula so far," he said. Rybin explained that the formula is unknown so far, "because Ukraine has not released one of the participants of the exchange yet." The attorney said that this person is Russian citizen Ruslan Gadzhiev.

The attorney confirmed that 12 Russian citizens have been pardoned, while the rest will be released due to "a change in measure of restraint or in the plea agreement." He added that the names of Ukrainian citizens exchanged by Russia are known, however, the attorney refused to provide this information.

Rybin also refused to provide the location for the exchange, adding that "everything is constantly changing."

The talks on the prisoner exchange deal between Russia and Ukraine are ongoing, with several legal procedures still to be carried out, Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova stated on Monday. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS earlier that Kremlin would not announce the date of the exchange due to it being a sensitive issue. On September 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the talks are close to being finalized, adding that the exchange will be large-scale and can serve as a step towards normalizing the relations between Russia and Ukraine.

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