Human rights ombudsman of the pseudo-authorities in Donetsk region not under the control of the government, Darya Morozova, said that the Ukrainian side allegedly thwarted the verification of prisoners.
“The Ukrainian side has disrupted verification for the process of swapping captives. The agreement was reached in Minsk that within the framework of the verification procedure a group of mothers and wives of captives will be able to talk not only to those citizens, who are being held at the detention centers, but also those, who are conventionally at large. These are 159 people. However, Kyiv representatives denied the interviewing of these people and said that they will not give them an opportunity for communication. The Ukrainian side thus unilaterally stops the process of verifying captives,” she told reporters on May 7.
Mothers and wives of the captives returned from the territory of Ukraine on May 7 ahead of time, though they should have stayed on the Ukrainian side until May 15, she said.
“We planned to discuss already the date of swap on May 15, but the process has again been stalled. I have already sent a letter to coordinator of the subgroup Tony Frisch, we will decide in Minsk what do to next […] I can draw a conclusion that Ukraine simply does not need these unlucky soldiers [captives being held in the separatist-held Donestk region],” she said.
As earlier reported, the conflicting parties have agreed on the process of verifying captives, who do not want to be swapped, at the latest meeting in Minsk.
