You're reading: Luhansk separatists promise to release Ukrainian prisoners in Christmas gesture

The leader of the Russia-backed separatist group in Luhansk, Igor Plotnitsky, said on Jan. 6 that he had given the order to release Ukrainian soldiers being held as prisoners of war in honour of Christmas.

“On Christmas Eve, I gave the order: Let the Ukrainian soldiers on our territory go home,” read the statement issued by his press service.

According to the Orthodox Christian calendar, Christmas is celebrated on Jan. 7.

The Ukrainian side neither denied nor confirmed the release of prisoners.

“We don’t announce the release of prisoners of war for their own safety,” Yuriy Tandit, the chief negotiator for prisoners of war with the Ukrainian Security Services told Kyiv Post in response to the statement.

“What we would like to see is results, rather than an announcement,” said Tandit. “And we would also like to stress that we are ready at any given moment to collect our men.”

Russia-backed separatists controlling territories around Donetsk will not be releasing prisoners, however, according to a statement that spokeswoman Darina Morozova issued in response to Plotnitsky’s promise.

Plotnitsky

Ihor Plotnitsky, head of the terrorist group Luhansk People’s Republic.

In a recent interview with Censor.net on Dec. 24, Tandit said that there are 140 prisoners of war including Ukrainian servicemen on the occupied territories. It is not clear how many of them are being held by the people of Plotnitsky.

Tandit said that out of the 140, the Ukrainian side only had information on the whereabouts of 57 of those held. Some of whom were being held illegally in Russia, according to him.

“It’s becoming harder to get them out. Rebels blackmail Ukraine by hitting the most vulnerable spot: using the people they hold captive,” Iryna Herashchenko, a lawmaker in charge of resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine, on Channel 5 on Jan. 6. “Either they connect this issue to the amnesty, or create some strange list, or lie saying they don’t know how many people they are holding, or underestimate the figures,” she said.

In the past the separatists have also demanded the release of prisoners in Ukraine who were not involved in the war, Tandit told Censor.net. He gave one example of a request to release a man who was sentenced 11 years ago because he is the relative of one of the “influential warlords”.

According to Tandit, the Ukrainian side is also unable to meet separatist demands in so far as they demand the release of prisoners already convicted by Ukrainian courts.

Kyiv Post staff writer Isobel Koshiw can be reached at [email protected]