During Prisoner Exchange One Asks To Stay With Ukrainian Capturers
RFE/RL’s Current Time correspondent Timur Olevsky is in eastern Ukraine and observed a prisoner exchange late last night. He reports that 12 Ukrainian fighters are to be released from separatists’ captivity today in exchange for the 12 separatists who were returned to the so called DPR yesterday evening. At first, they were going to exchange 14 people, but Ukraine’s Security Service decided to keep two, accusing them of committing grave crimes. Separatists reduced their list to 12 people as well.
“An exchange like this already fell through once due to the actions of the inept [Ukrainian] negotiator,” reports Olevsky. "He was inexperienced and didn’t even know that some people on his list were already dead.”
Vasyl Budik, advisor to the Ukrainian deputy minister of defense, is now in charge of exchanges.
The procedure is taking place on neutral territory, at a checkpoint close to Maryinka. Here is Olevsky’s account of how the return of captive separatists took place:
“Budik called somebody on the other side, asking for a 'green corridor.' At the time of the exchange, shelling continued. The self-proclaimed “DPR” militia fired artillery and the Ukrainian military fired back. In the end, the separatists were returned. When boarding the car, one man asked to stay. But he was still given away, because otherwise Ukrainians would get one less person back. I can’t stop thinking about this one person, who at the last minute decided to stay.”
