You're reading: Kyiv says separatists continue to block release of hostages

The process of freeing the hostages remains blocked by representatives of separatist-held territories in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts, they still hold in prisons minors, who are accused of sabotage, First Deputy Chair of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s representative in the humanitarian subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group on Donbas Iryna Gerashchenko said.

She admits that despite the promise to free teenagers accused of sabotage by Christmas holidays, separatists still holds juveniles in prison.

“This is what militants’ promise is worth. Despite the appeal of leaders of the Normandy format and the trilateral contact group to free hostages before the New Year holidays, and a gesture of goodwill by the Ukrainian side – a unilateral handover of 15 people, the release of the hostages is still blocked,” Gerashchenko wrote on her Facebook page on Jan. 16 after a meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk.

At the same time, representatives of the separatist-held parts of eastern Ukraine said that their gesture of goodwill was the transfer of Taras Kolodiy and two women, whose fate was discussed in Minsk.

“And now they are again pushing for an immediate amnesty as a prerequisite for the release and transfer of nearly 700 people in exchange for 50 hostages,” Gerashchenko said.

“The Ukrainian side insists on the immediate unlocking of the talks on the release of the hostages. We noted those realistic compromises proposed a few months ago, which could unlock the release process,” Gerashchenko said.