KYIV – Ukraine and the Russian-controlled occupation administrations in the Donbas on December 29 carried out an exchange of prisoners. Welcomed by many, it was strongly criticized by others because of the terms on which it was made.
Seventy-six Ukrainian prisoners were returned in a swap for 127 people handed over to Russia’s proxies who, controversially, included five ex-Berkut officers suspected of mass killings of protesters during the Revolution of Dignity in 2014, as well as three pro-Russian militants convicted of a deadly terrorist attack in Kharkiv in February 2015.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has defended his decision to “return our heroes” even at such a cost, and numerous Western leaders and institutions have supported his actions. At home, however, he has been accused by political opponents and civil society activists of conceding too much and undermining ongoing criminal proceedings.