Donetsk-Kiev Prisoner Swap Begins despite Ceasefire Defiance
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The transfer of captives from the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) to Kiev will begin on Saturday, despite ceasefire defiance in Amvrosiivka, DPR’s Prime Minister Aleksander Zakharchenko told reporters Saturday.
"At the moment, the ceasefire agreement is not fully complied with. It is too early to talk about a complete ceasefire," Zakharchenko said referring to two shelling attacks in Amvrosiivka, within the Donetsk Region, early Saturday.
"The transfer of prisoners of war will be held today on our part. We hope that on Monday, the Ukrainian side will hold their transfer," he was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying.
On the eve of the second meeting of a trilateral contact group on Ukraine in Minsk, Kiev authorities and militia forces agreed on a truce that started at 6:00 p.m. Kiev time (15:00 GMT) on Friday.
The representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) met Friday to discuss ways to resolve the Ukrainian crisis and agreed to a ceasefire, the international monitoring of its implementation, the exchange of all prisoners and the opening of humanitarian corridors.
The first round of peace talks in Minsk took place on August 26.
The Ukrainian government has been conducting a military operation against independence supporters in eastern Ukraine Since mid-April. Independence supporters refused to acknowledge the new government that came to power after a coup in February and proclaimed independence in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in May.
According to the UN estimates, violent conflicts in the region have so far killed 2,500 people and injured 6,000.
