A number of vans likely transporting Ukrainian servicemen that had violated the Russian state border have reportedly left the Lefortovo detention facility in Moscow.
During the Eastern Economic Forum earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the upcoming release of detainees and convicted persons by Moscow and Kiev. Putin has said the operation would be large-scale.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pardoned people being prepared for simultaneous release by Russia and Ukraine.
Preparations for prisoners' exchange between Russia and Ukraine intensified after Zelenskyy became Ukraine's new president in May. According to Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Presidents of Russia and Ukraine, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, discussed the situation surrounding the prisoners twice, during phone talks on 12 July and 7 August.