Ukraine and separatists exchange prisoners

kiev - In the crisis area in eastern Ukraine, a start was made on the exchange of prisoners on Wednesday. The Kyiv government and the pro-Russian separatists had agreed, according to Patriarch Kirill of Orthodox Church Christmas Day. The border crossing Majorsk was according to the media the scene of the exchange.

Initially, Ukraine released 74 detainees, the so-called People's Republic of Luhansk sent sixteen Ukrainians home. 'It all goes according to plan,' said the Ukrainian negotiator Viktor Medvedchuk on the Russian TV channel NTW.

Whether the agreed numbers- Ukraine 306, Luhansk 74- are met, is still the question. On the list of Kiev were more than forty freedom fighters who had already served their sentence and left the prison. Some do not want to go back at all. In the exchange itself, they have to say this to the representatives of the Red Cross.