“All of the Ukrainian military personnel, who have voluntarily laid down their weapons and surrendered to the people’s militia in the Debaltseve region, will soon be handed over to Ukrainian human rights figure Viktor Medvedchuk,” Basurin said.
Earlier in the day, Kiev special operations headquarters spokesman Vladislav Seleznev said that at least 110 Ukrainians troops had been taken prisoners by the eastern Ukraine militia in the area of Debaltseve.
The town of Debaltseve, a key transport hub located between the two Ukrainian breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, has been highly contested lately by independence militia and government troops, even after the ceasefire came into effect at the end of last week.
On Thursday, DPR representative Denis Pushilin said that the militia took control over the city, adding that the republic was ready to swap all the Kiev troops it captured in Debaltseve according to an all-for-all formula.
An all-for-all prisoner exchange was one of 13 points in the deal worked out last week by the Russian, Ukrainian, French and German leaders in Minsk. The other points include a ceasefire, in effect since Sunday, and a pullout of heavy weaponry from the line of contact.
