Elevate your local knowledge

Sign up for the iNFOnews newsletter today!

Select Region

Selecting your primary region ensures you get the stories that matter to you first.

Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners

Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners | iNFOnews.ca
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko welcomes Yuri Soloshenko, left, who was convicted on espionage charges and Gennady Afanasyev, second left, who was convicted on charges of sabotage, after their return in Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, June 14, 2016. Russia and Ukraine has exchanged four prisoners in a move coordinated by their governments. Ukraine, in its turn, freed two imprisoned pro-Russia Ukrainian journalists from Odessa, Elena Glishchinskaya and Vitaly Didenko. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)

MOSCOW – Russia and Ukraine have exchanged four prisoners in a move co-ordinated by their governments.

The swap follows last month’s release of Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko after two years in a Russian prison. Savchenko was swapped for two Russians convicted of fighting in eastern Ukraine.

In Tuesday’s exchange, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin pardoned Gennady Afanasyev, who was convicted on charges of sabotage, and Yuri Soloshenko, convicted on espionage charges. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko welcomed them in Kyiv after their return.

Ukraine, in turn, freed two imprisoned pro-Russia Ukrainian journalists from Odesa, Elena Glishchinskaya and Vitaly Didenko. They were flown to Moscow. Glishchinskaya travelled with her newborn baby.

Russia and Ukraine have remained locked in a tug-of-war following Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and support for insurgents in eastern Ukraine.

News from © The Associated Press, . All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The Associated Press

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day.

Related Articles