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Ukraine separatists say to swap prisoners with Kiev Sunday

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AFP Moscow
Last Updated : Dec 28 2019 | 3:35 PM IST

Ukrainian authorities and pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country have agreed to swap several dozen prisoners on Sunday, the self-declared rebel republic of Donetsk said.

"Kiev and the Donbass (a term used to refer to rebel-held eastern Ukraine) have reached an accord on an exchange of prisoners... this Sunday December 29," Donetsk government spokeswoman Daria Morozova said in a statement.

There was no immediate confirmation from Kiev, but both sides said earlier this month they would carry out a prisoner exchange by the end of the year, following high-profile peace talks in Paris.

The swap would come three months after Ukraine carried out a long-awaited exchange with Russia of 35 prisoners each.

More than 13,000 people have been killed and one million have fled their homes since pro-Russia militias in eastern Ukraine launched a bid for independence in 2014 -- kicking off a conflict that deepened Russia's estrangement from the West.

At the Paris summit on December 23, the leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine agreed to implement a full ceasefire and proceed with a new withdrawal of forces from conflict zones by March 2020.

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First Published: Dec 28 2019 | 3:35 PM IST

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