Prisoner Swap in Donbas Unlikely to Take Place Before End of 2018 - DPR Ombudswoman

DONETSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st December, 2018) The self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) is ready for the exchange of prisoners with Kiev, but it is unlikely to take place before the end of this year, DPR Ombudswoman Daria Morozova said on Friday.

First deputy speaker of the Ukrainian parliament Iryna Herashchenko said earlier in the day that Kiev was proposing to exchange prisoners with Donbas in the 72-for-19 format on January 5.

"We offered them [Kiev] to work on [prisoner] lists ... But they dismissed our calls. Therefore, unfortunately, there will be no [prisoner] exchange this year," Morozova told reporters.

The conflict in Donbas started in 2014, when Ukrainian authorities launched a military operation against the self-proclaimed republics that refused to recognize the new government in Kiev, which came to power after what they considered to be a coup.

In February 2015, the warring parties signed the Minsk peace accords to end the hostilities in the region, but the situation has remained tense, with both parties accusing each other of ceasefire violations.