Russian ombudsman confirms exchange of 9 captured Russian soldiers for mayor of Ukraine's Melitopol

MOSCOW. March 21 (Interfax) - The exchange of nine captured Russian servicemen for Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fyodorov has become the first such swap between Russia and Ukraine, Russian human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova said.

"The first exchange has taken place - nine people, some of them from the list that I have been compiling based on reports. I very much hope that we will avoid any delays with these lists, cards, procedures," Moskalkova told the RT television channel.

She confirmed that nine captured Russian servicemen had been exchanged for Melitopol Mayor Fyodorov.

However, only the Russian Defense Ministry can give the precise number of Ukrainians captured by the Russian Armed Forces, but there are "much more" of them than the 500 cards that have been filled out and passed to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Moskalkova said earlier that information on more than 500 Ukrainians captured by the Russian Armed Forces had been passed to the ICRC and that Russia was ready to exchange them.