- Title: 'We did what we said' - Ukraine's Zelenskiy on prisoner swap
- Date: 29th December 2019
- Summary: KIEV, UKRAINE (DECEMBER 29, 2019) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF MAN EMBRACING WOMAN (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) PRISONER RELEASED FROM LUHANSK, ANATOLIY SYMERENKO, SAYING: "I spent three and a half years there." REPORTER ASKING OFF CAMERA: "How were you captured?" SYMERENKO SAYING: "I came to Luhansk to visit relatives. I was detained there and placed in a basement in the former security service building. I spent half a year there. I was accused of espionage, I was sentenced to 12 years." WOMAN IN WHEELCHAIR (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) PRISONER RELEASED FROM DONETSK, YAKIV KRYVOSHEYEV, SAYING: (WHEN ASKED WHAT HE WAS CAPTURED FOR) "Because I did not forget what colour of my passport is and what is written there - that I am a citizen of my country and I do not bargain on principles." MAN TALKING TO WOMAN, KISSING HER (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) PRISONER RELEASED FROM DONETSK, 72, ANASTASIYA MUKHINA, SAYING: (WHEN ASKED HOW MUCH TIME SHE SPENT IN CAPTIVITY) "Twenty two months, 22 days." REPORTER ASKING OFF CAMERA: "What for?" MUKHINA SAYING: "What for? For my Ukrainian views." PEOPLE OUTSIDE BUS (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) PRISONER RELEASED FROM DONETSK, ANDRIY ZHENCHUS, SAYING: "I have only have my motherland. It is united and what is happening there is temporary. It will be over soon and the Ukrainian authorities will be back there. It will be a united, strong and powerful country." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE OUTSIDE BUS MAN ON BOARD OF BUS SHOWING DOCUMENT BUS DEPARTING
- Embargoed: 12th January 2020 23:25
- Keywords: Ukraine airport arrival conflict east exchange president Volodymyr Zelenskiy prisoners pro-Russian separatists rebels swap
- Location: KIEV, UKRAINE
- City: KIEV, UKRAINE
- Country: Ukraine
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA006BC13OLJ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and relatives greeted freed Ukrainian prisoners at Kiev's Boryspil Airport on Sunday night (December 29), following their release by pro-Russian separatists.
Earlier on Sunday, Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists conducted an all-for-all prisoner swap at a check point near the industrial town of Horlivka in the Donetsk region.
"The main thing is that the people are at home before the New Year ... I am happy, I think they are too," Zelenskiy said.
He thanked fellow leaders of the so-called "Normandy Four" group - Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany - for helping mediate the swap during talks in Paris earlier this month.
Some Ukrainians remained in custody both in Russia and Donbass and may figure in future swaps, Zelenskiy said.
Kiev's forces have been battling separatists in the Donbass region since 2014 in a conflict that has claimed more than 13,000 lives. Sporadic fighting continues despite a ceasefire agreement.
Relations between Ukraine and Russia collapsed following Moscow's annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014, and its subsequent support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. Moscow denies allegations.
(Production: Sergei Karazy, Margaryta Chornokondratenko, Peter Scott) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None