Lawyer Valentin Rybin said on Friday that all the prisoners set to take part in the Russian-Ukrainian prisoner exchange were either at gathering points or in detention facilities, refuting claims that any of them had departed to their home country
KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th August, 2019) Lawyer Valentin Rybin said on Friday that all the prisoners set to take part in the Russian-Ukrainian prisoner exchange were either at gathering points or in detention facilities, refuting claims that any of them had departed to their home country.
Media reports emerged that an aircraft carrying Ukrainian detained persons was due to land in Kiev at around 5 a.m. local time (02:00 GMT) on Friday. Moreover, Ruslan Ryaboshapka, Ukraine's newly-appointed prosecutor general, reposted on Friday a statement by a Ukrainian parliamentarian that said that several Ukrainians were flying home. Meanwhile, both the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the Security Service of Ukraine said on Friday that the exchange continued, refuting claims about its completion.
"Do not be swayed by fakes, verify information ... I tell you that as of this morning I'm in Poltava, on my way to Dnipro, and no one is flying anywhere. All the Russian and Ukrainian nationals who plan to take part in the exchange are either at gathering points or in pretrial detention facilities or facilities where they are serving sentences. No aircraft has departed from Russia to Kiev. So let us be patient," Rybin said in a video address, published on Facebook.
Rybin also reiterated in his comment for Sputnik that Zelenskyy had not yet granted pardon to the detained Russians. Meanwhile, this is a prerequisite for the exchange.
