Ukraine, eastern rebels swap prisoners in move to end five-year conflict

Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine exchanged 200 prisoners Sunday in a move aimed at ending their five-year war. The swap near the rebel-held city of Horlivka was part of an agreement brokered this month by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France. According to figures from officials of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s republics — the two separatist governments in the rebel area — Ukraine turned over 124 people and the separatists freed 76. Those released by Ukraine included five former members of a now-disbanded special police force who were charged in the killing of protesters in 2014, a Ukrainian news site Hromadske quoted their lawyer as saying. The Security Service of Ukraine said the 76 freed by rebels included 12 servicemen. U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said two of its contributors also were released.

The conflict in Ukraine has killed more than 14,000 since 2014. It began after Ukraine’s Russia-friendly president fled the country amid massive protests. Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula soon followed. Hopes for ending the fighting have risen since the recent election of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who has been more amenable to negotiations with Russia.