December 29, 2019 (BBC News Europe) Pro-Russian separatists and Ukraine have concluded a long-awaited prisoner exchange of 200 prisoners, the office of the Ukrainian president said. Ukraine's government received 76 captives, with the pro-Russian separatists reportedly taking 124. Russian and Ukrainian authorities agreed to the swap - which is aimed at improving ties - at talks in December.
Relations between the two countries deteriorated in 2014, when Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula. Russian-backed rebels then began an insurgency in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine. More than 13,000 people have been killed in the conflict. This is the second prisoner exchange involving Russia and Ukraine. In September, 24 sailors seized by Russia in the Kerch Strait off Crimea in November 2018 were released and - controversially - a "person of interest" over the downing of flight MH17 which killed 298 people was handed to Russia. Sunday's swap took place at a check point near the industrial town of Horlivka in the Donetsk region.
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