UK calls on Russia to release all remaining Ukrainian prisoners

31.12.2019 11:51

Ukrinform

The United Kingdom welcomes the release and return of detainees held in the occupied Donbas to government-controlled territory on December 29 and expects Russia to release all remaining Ukrainian prisoners.

“We welcome the recent prisoner exchange in Ukraine. The return of Ukrainians detained by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine is long overdue,” reads the statement of the UK’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

As noted, the prisoner exchange is another example of President Zelensky’s determination to bring an end to the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

The UK also commends the Ukrainian leader’s commitment to “seek justice for those protestors murdered in 2014.”

“Russia must fulfil its obligations under the Minsk agreements and immediately release all remaining Ukrainian political prisoners,” the statement underscores.

As reported, on December 29, the detainee exchange between Ukraine and the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic” and “Luhansk People’s Republic” took place at the Mayorske entry-exit checkpoint in Donetsk region.

Seventy-six people returned to Ukraine. Ukraine transferred 127 detainees, being ready to transfer 141 people, but 14 of them refused to return to the militant-controlled territory.