DPR insists that Ukraine drop criminal charges against captive militia
MOSCOW. Dec 29 (Interfax) - Ukraine should drop the charges against POWs during the prisoner exchange process and should prevent their prosecution, Denis Pushilin, an official representative of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, said.
"An exchange of POWs could take place in the last days of this year, but in order for that to happen we need to resolve some technical issues promptly, specifically, our POWs need to be'cleared'. The Ukrainian authorities are not dropping any charges on them before the POW exchange. For this reason, our people should be cleared of all charges before the POW exchange. It's one of the technical issues that is hindering the POW exchange," Pushilin was quoted by the Donetsk News Agency as saying on Monday.
DPR human rights ombudsman Darya Morozova, for her part, said some 220 people are now being held captive. "Some 220 troops are now held on the territory of Ukraine. If course, we would like the parties to reach agreements on their release and we would like them to be handed over before the end of this year," she said.
On December 26, the Ukrainian military and militia exchanged POWs according to a "222 for 150" formula.
