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Donbass republics hand over first 25 people to Kiev in prisoner swap

When asked about whether they wanted to move to Ukraine, all the persons subject to the handover answered in the affirmative

KIEV, December 29. /TASS/. The Donbass republics have handed over the first 25 people to Kiev in a prisoner swap, according to a live broadcast by the Ukrainian president’s office on its Facebook page on Sunday.

"All the 25 people," a representative of the Lugansk People’s Republic said after verifying the prisoner swap list. When asked about whether they wanted to move to Ukraine, all the persons subject to the handover answered in the affirmative.

The prisoner swap between the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, on the one hand, and Ukraine, on the other hand, started at the Gorlovka-Mayorskoye checkpoint on the line of contact between the conflicting parties.

As was reported earlier, Donetsk and Lugansk are set to hand over 55 persons to Kiev and expect to receive 87 people. However, Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) ombudswoman Darya Morozova said on Sunday that the figures might change and the Donbass republics would receive a larger number of people.

In turn, Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada human rights envoy Lyudmila Denisova announced that Kiev intended to receive 80 people.

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