Political prisoners illegally detained in the Russian-occupied Crimea and in Russian territory will be included in the next stage of the exchange of detainees, the press service of the Mission of the President of Ukraine for the Autonomous Republic of Crimea has said.
“Over the past few days, questions were raised about the release of political prisoners held in occupied Crimea and the Russian Federation. We can confidently say that the work on their release is ongoing – today it has been the first stage announced by the President of Ukraine. The next steps will follow. Crimean prisoners will be included in the next stage of the swap,” the press service said on Facebook on Sunday evening.
As was reported earlier, 76 Ukrainians, including 12 Ukrainian soldiers, were freed in the Dec. 29 prisoner swap between the Ukrainian authorities and the self-proclaimed Russia-controlled republics, “Donetsk People’s Republic” (“DPR”) and “Luhansk People’s Republic” (“LPR”).
