Russia-Ukraine Again Conduct Prisoner Exchange, Soldiers And Employees Of Atomic Energy Companies

Komisioner HAM Rusia Tatyana Moskalkova. (Wikimedia Commons/The Council of the Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation)

JAKARTA - Russia's Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova confirmed on Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had resumed a prisoner swap last weekend.

Moskalkova said among those who returned to Russia were four employees of the state atomic energy company Rosatom, soldiers and several other civilians.

"This morning they landed on Russian soil," Moskalkova said in an online post, quoted by Reuters, April 11.

On Saturday, a truck driver swap between Russia and Ukraine was also carried out, said Moskalkova, with the exchange of 32 Russian truck drivers, 20 Ukrainians, and a number of Belarusian nationals.

Separately, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Saturday that 12 of his soldiers were being returned after a prisoner swap with Russia, the third such exchange since the start of the conflict.

Vereshchuk said 14 civilians had also returned to Ukraine as part of the deal. However, he did not say how many Russians had been released.

As previously reported, Russia and Ukraine first agreed to carry out a prisoner swap between the two countries which was announced on February 24. The exchange at that time took place between prisoners of the Russian army and the Mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov.

"The first exchange took place. We returned our nine sons," Tatyana said in an interview with RT, confirming that Russian soldiers were exchanged for the mayor of Melitopol, TASS reported.