Russian separatists, Ukraine swap prisoners in victory for Zelenskiy
MOSCOW — Ukraine swapped dozens of prisoners on Sunday with Russian-backed separatists in the country’s east, the latest sign of a tenuous thaw in relations between Ukraine and Russia.
The trade was seen as a success for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who has vowed to free all detainees and negotiate a settlement to the conflict in eastern Ukraine. But it came at a high price: To secure its prisoners, Ukraine freed riot police officers who had been accused of shooting protesters during the country’s revolution in 2014, a widely criticized move.
Mr. Zelenskiy negotiated the swap with Russian President Vladimir Putin this month at peace talks in Paris that otherwise made little headway in resolving the five-year war.
The sides exchanged soldiers, activists and people accused of espionage, some of whom had been languishing in jails for years.
It was in an effort last summer to win American support for such diplomacy that Mr. Zelenskiy sought a White House meeting with President Donald Trump, who in exchange asked for investigations that could help discredit his political rivals, including former Vice President Joe Biden, a candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. The House of Representatives impeached Mr. Trump over his dealings with Ukraine.
With the U.S. — Ukraine’s principal ally — distracted by impeachment proceedings, Mr. Zelenskiy entered the settlement talks with Russia with a weakened hand.
But Mr. Zelenskiy, who won an election in April on a promise to end the war, has been inching toward more stable relations with Russia. Mr. Putin, eager to shake Western resolve on economic sanctions, has accommodated with confidence-building steps, like the prisoner swap.
Some prisoners held by Ukraine declined to take part in the trade that would have sent them to live in the isolated, repressive separatist enclaves known as the people’s republics, preferring to serve out their sentences in Ukraine instead.