PUTIN’S ALLY RELEASED IN UKRAINE EXCHANGE FOR PRISONERS

PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin’s ally Viktor Medvedchuk, pictured left, and 55 servicemen were handed over to Russia in a prisoner swap with Kyiv, a leader of Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine confirmed this week.

Medvedchuk, 68, is one of Ukraine’s richest people and says Putin is the godfather to his youngest daughter. The former Ukrainian lawmaker was accused of high treason. He was recaptured by Ukraine’s special forces in mid-April after escaping from house arrest.

Russia’s defence ministry said that the released servicemen were transported to Russia and “are in medical institutions of Russia’s defence ministry”.

It released a video of what it said were the freed servicemen, showing them in military uniform disembarking a plane at night.

Following the exchange, Ukraine received 215 people, including fighters who had led the defence of Mariupol’s Azovstal steelworks that became an icon of Ukrainian resistance. | AFP