Kiev (AFP)

Ukraine on Wednesday condemned Russian-Ukrainian journalist Kyrylo Vychynsky, who was tried for "high treason", a surprise decision that may be part of an upcoming exchange of dozens of prisoners between Kiev and Moscow.

Mr Vychynsky was "released" after the announcement of this decision by the Kiev Court of Appeal, his lawyer Andriï Domansky told AFP. After more than a year in detention, the journalist pledged not to flee and to go to court in his ongoing trial.

"The court has finally made a just decision about me," Vychynsky told the court, according to footage from Ukrainian television. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov welcomed the decision in a briefing with the press.

This surprise release comes as Kiev and Moscow discuss a possible exchange of dozens of prisoners held by the two countries, which could take place in the coming days.

It also comes two days after the announcement by French President Emmanuel Macron of a future quadripartite summit on Ukraine.

Several media have said in recent weeks that this exchange, the first for several years, could be implemented by the end of August and include the 24 Ukrainian sailors detained in Russia after a naval incident in the Black Sea last November.

Mr Vychynsky "will be exchanged, that's why the decision was made", confirmed Wednesday without further details a Ukrainian source close to the case, quoted by the agency Interfax-Ukraine.

- "First step" -

Kyrylo Vychynsky, 52, former head of the Russian news agency Ria Novosti in Ukraine, was arrested in Kiev in May 2018 and charged with "high treason" by the judiciary, a crime punishable by 15 years in prison.

The Ukrainian security services accuse him of having carried out "subversive activities" at the request of Moscow, and in particular to have sought to "justify" the annexation of the Ukrainian Peninsula of Crimea by Russia in 2014. It is also accused of "supporting" pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

The arrest of the journalist has been repeatedly denounced by Moscow and in particular by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who granted him Russian citizenship by decree in 2015.

The Kremlin had estimated in July that its "return" to Russia would be "an excellent first step" towards restoring relations between the two former Soviet republics, at loggerheads for five years.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had offered to exchange Vychynsky against Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, imprisoned in Russia for "terrorism", saying that their release should be "simultaneous".

Asked Saturday by AFP whether Mr. Sentsov was on the list of people to be exchanged soon, Mr. Zelensky however declined to comment.

Mr Sentsov, 43, was arrested in May 2014 in Crimea after protests against the annexation of the peninsula by Moscow. His case is the best known among the dozens of Ukrainians detained in Russia and considered as "political prisoners" by Kiev.

- Next summit -

The release of Mr Vychynsky comes two days after the announcement by Paris of a new summit in "Normandy format", which will gather in September France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia.

The meeting, the first since October 2015, will seek to advance the peace process in eastern Ukraine, in the grip of a war with pro-Russian separatists backed by Moscow, according to Kiev and Westerners.

The conflict has killed about 13,000 people over the last five years and, despite a significant drop in the level of violence, the political settlement remains at a standstill.

The election in April in Ukraine of Volodymyr Zelensky, former comedian novice in politics, was seen as a chance to revive the dialogue between the two neighbors. He succeeded Petro Poroshenko, a supporter of a hard line against Moscow.

© 2019 AFP