Moscow may swap Ukraine prisoners for Putin ally: Negotiator

On May 26, the Russian Supreme Court is scheduled to consider a request to classify the Azov regiment as a "terrorist organisation," which could complicate an exchange of these prisoners.

Published: 22nd May 2022 08:54 AM  |   Last Updated: 22nd May 2022 08:54 AM   |  A+A-

Ukrainian servicemen sit in a bus after leaving Mariupol's besieged Azovstal steel plant, near a penal colony, in Olyonivka, in territory under the government of the Donetsk People's Republic. (AP)

Ukrainian servicemen sit in a bus after leaving Mariupol's besieged Azovstal steel plant, near a penal colony, in Olyonivka, in territory under the government of the Donetsk People's Republic. (AP)

By AFP

UKRAINE: Moscow will consider exchanging prisoners from Ukraine's Azov battalion for Viktor Medvedchuk, a wealthy Ukrainian businessman close to President Vladimir Putin, a Russian negotiator said on Saturday.

"We are going to study the possibility," said Leonid Slutsky, a senior member of Russia's negotiating team on Ukraine, speaking from the separatist city of Donetsk in southeastern Ukraine, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

Medvedchuk, 67, is a politician and one of Ukraine's richest people and is known for his close ties to Putin. He escaped from house arrest after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February but was re-arrested in mid-April.

On Friday the Russian army announced that the last defenders of the strategic port city of Mariupol, in southeastern Ukraine, had surrendered after holding out at the Azovstal steelworks for weeks.

Among the Ukrainian fighters who gave themselves up to the Russian troops were members of the Azov regiment, a former paramilitary unit that has integrated into the Ukrainian armed forces. Russia describes the unit, which has previous links to far-right groups, as a neo-Nazi organisation.

On May 26, the Russian Supreme Court is scheduled to consider a request to classify the Azov regiment as a "terrorist organisation," which could complicate an exchange of these prisoners.

Denis Pushilin, leader of the Donetsk separatists, said Saturday that the Ukrainian soldiers who defended the Azovstal plant should be put on trial. "I believe that a legal case is inevitable: justice must prevail," said Pushilin, quoted by Ria Novosti at the same news conference at which Slutsky spoke.



Comments

Disclaimer : We respect your thoughts and views! But we need to be judicious while moderating your comments. All the comments will be moderated by the newindianexpress.com editorial. Abstain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks. Try to avoid outside hyperlinks inside the comment. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines.

The views expressed in comments published on newindianexpress.com are those of the comment writers alone. They do not represent the views or opinions of newindianexpress.com or its staff, nor do they represent the views or opinions of The New Indian Express Group, or any entity of, or affiliated with, The New Indian Express Group. newindianexpress.com reserves the right to take any or all comments down at any time.

flipboard facebook twitter whatsapp