Kyiv proposes swapping 23 Russian prisoners for Ukrainians held captive in Russia
Kyiv increased the number of Russians offered in exchange for Ukrainian citizens convicted in Russia. The earlier offer was for the release of 20 Russian citizens. Now, Ukraine’s representative in the Humanitarian Subgroup on Donbas [of the Trilateral Contact Group] Iryna Herashchenko voiced the proposal to release 23 Russians, Interfax-Ukraine reports.
"Those Russians who were detained, in fact, as a result of the war for... participation in the conflict under the guise of so-called "militia" are being served sentences in Ukrainian prisons for serious crimes against the territorial integrity and sovereignty [of Ukraine]. Obviously, they are handlers, but not "militiamen". In fact, Ukraine is ready to hand over these convicts but we also want the release of the citizens of Ukraine," she said.
Kyiv expressed readiness to exchange Russian prisoners held in Ukrainian prisons on April 2. Then Herashchenko said that in response, [Ukraine] would count on the release of Oleh Sentsov, a Ukrainian film director who was convicted in 2015, and anti-fascist Oleksandr Kolchenko, who got ten years in a prison colony. The Ukrainian citizens maintained their innocence of the charges.