Russia, Ukraine Start Prisoner Exchange
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The exchange procedure for citizens arrested and convicted in Russia and Ukraine has started, the lawyer of one of the Ukrainian sailors Nikolai Polozov said.
"Ukrainian sailors have been delivered from the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center to Vnukovo Airport, which is why it is safe to say that the exchange has started," Polozov told TASS.
Preparations for exchange of detainees between Moscow and Kiev intensified after Vladimir Zelensky was elected Ukrainian President. The active stage of negotiations and formalization of legal procedures regarding the citizens of the two countries to be put on the list started a couple of weeks ago. On September 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the exchange would be large-scale and can serve as a step towards improving the bilateral relationship.
On November 25, 2018, Russia said three Ukrainian naval ships violated the rules of passage from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov. Moscow said the Ukrainian vessels illegally crossed the Russian state border, trespassed into Russian territorial waters and conducted dangerous maneuvers.
Russian forces fired on them in order to get them to stop. As a result, all three ships were detained. A criminal case was opened over the violation of the Russian state border, with 24 sailors arrested.
