SWAP HOPE FOR UK PAIR
UKRAINE says it is ready to swap Russian prisoners of war to secure the release of British fighters Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner.
Kyiv says they are soldiers who should be protected as prisoners of war under international law.
And last night Ukraine’s country’s ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko, suggested they will be freed under a prisoner swap deal with Russia.
In return, President Vladimir Putin could demand the release of a number of pro-kremlin Ukrainian politicians who have been detained for alleged spying.
“It will be a swap,” Mr Prystaiko told BBC News.
“The important question is what will be the price for this, because the Russians were talking about some Ukrainian MPS being swapped for them, especially for those who, I now understand, were working for them for all these years.”
The ambassador added that Aiden and Shaun “have contracts with the armed forces, they lived in Ukraine before, so they are legitimately there”.