For Ukraine, the Ukraine-Russia prisoner swap on Sept. 7 was ephoric and touching. 35 men, of them 11 Ukrainian political prisoners of the Kremlin and 24 sailors Russia captured after attacking Ukrainian ships in the Black sea in November 2018, were greeted in Boryspil airport near Kyiv not only by their sobbing families but by the country at large – the event was the major news of the day. Hats went off to President Zelensky as having achieved a major breakthrough in the question of freeing Ukrainian political prisoners jailed by Russia and even in Ukraine-Russia relations.
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Russian plane with 35 Russian prisoners takes off from Boryspil airport in Kyiv and headed towards Moscow, as part of the prisoner exchange between the two countries on Sept. 7, 2019.
