The specific date for the exchange of Ukrainian and Russian prisoners has not been agreed. This was reported by the press secretary of the SBU Elena Gitlyanskaya.
“We do not say the date, but I can say that it is not today (August 30. - RT ). There is no final date yet, ”said Elena Gitlyanskaya, SBU spokeswoman, to the Ukrainian observer.
At the same time, she emphasized that there are no obstacles to the exchange, and "everything is going as planned."
Gitlyanskaya’s statement followed after the media reported that on Friday, August 30, an exchange of prisoners was supposed to take place between Russia and Ukraine. The reason for the message was the post on Twitter of the former State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomaryov, who now lives in Kiev.
“Today there will be an exchange of prisoners. Keep your fists! “Feeling happy,” he wrote.
Today there will be an exchange of prisoners. Keep your fists! - feeling happy
- Ilya Ponomarev (@iponomarev) August 29, 2019A message circulated in the media was posted on its Facebook page by an employee of the Verkhovna Rada Anna Islamova. At the same time, she declared the exchange as a fait accompli. So, Islamova noted that sailors and SBU officers, detained for violating the border in the Kerch Strait, as well as Oleg Sentsov, Nikolai Karpyuk, Pavel Grib and Vladimir Balukh, convicted in Russia, are returning home.
The repost of her message, in turn, was made by the new Ukrainian prosecutor general Ruslan Ryaboshapka. He later deleted the message from his page.
- © Olena Mitsak
After that, journalists went to Kiev Zhuliany airport and Ostafyevo airport near Moscow.
Unverified Information
However, as it turned out, no exchange was planned for August 30. This, in particular, was stated in the office of the President of Ukraine. They noted that all the messages that appeared were unreliable and are speculations.
“The process of mutual release of detainees continues. Information about its completion is not true. This is not the first time that we have seen information chaos caused by a link to unconfirmed information and numerous "sources". We urge you to understand the consequences of misinformation: this is a game with the emotions of society. When the mutual release of the detainees is completed, the president’s office will report this through official channels, ”the Facebook office said in a statement.
Elena Gitlyanskaya, spokesman for the SBU, also called for official confirmation of the exchange earlier.
“The complex process of hostage exchange negotiations is ongoing. Be patient, hopefully not for long. Do not share unverified information, ”she said on Facebook.
"Nobody is flying anywhere"
Evidence that the exchange of prisoners was not completed was confirmed by Valentin Rybin, the lawyer for the part of the detained Russians. He said that his clients continue to remain in jail.
“No one is flying anywhere. All citizens of the Russian Federation, as well as citizens of Ukraine who plan to take part in the exchange, are at the collection point, at the places of pre-trial detention or serving sentences. No plane flew from Russia to Kiev. Therefore, let's be patient and not start off, ”Rybin said.
He later emphasized that Vladimir Zelensky has not yet pardoned the persons participating in the exchange from the Ukrainian side.
His colleague, representing the interests of Ukrainian sailors, Nikolai Polozov completely declined to comment.
“We do not comment on rumors, assumptions, and obviously false information. An official comment will be presented on this page when all the necessary facts have been confirmed, ”he said on Facebook.
Meanwhile, earlier in late July, Polozov said that sailors could be released from custody until October.
In turn, the head of the political council of the party “Opposition Platform - For Life,” Victor Medvedchuk, on August 30, visited Ukrainian prisoners in Lefortovo jail, said that there was confidence in an early exchange of citizens. “Negotiations are ongoing and they are successful,” he said. However, according to him, there is no readiness to start the process yet.
Prisoner exchange
Recall that 22 Ukrainian sailors and two SBU officers were detained by the Border Service of the FSB of Russia in November 2018. They were on three ships of the Ukrainian Navy - Berdyansk, Nikopol and Yana Kapu, which illegally crossed the Russian border in the Kerch Strait area. The crew did not follow the rules of the passage and ignored the requirements of the border service of the FSB of Russia. The Russian side was forced to use force; the violators were detained. Three of them were injured and received the necessary medical care.
In the course of the inspection that followed, documents were found on the ships, including direct instructions on the transition from Odessa to Berdyansk in "secretive order." The actions of Ukrainian sailors, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the provocation, and the reaction of Russian border guards - the protection of the state border. The court arrested Ukrainians until January 2019.
In August of this year, reports began to appear in the media that Kiev and Moscow were preparing a mutual exchange of prisoners. So, allegedly it is planned to hold it in the “33 by 33” format. At the same time, Moscow, as noted by the media, will hand over to Kiev the Ukrainian sailors detained in the Kerch Strait, as well as Oleg Sentsov, Nikolai Karpyuk, Pavel Grib and Vladimir Balukh.
Kiev, according to media reports, among others, is ready to transfer to Moscow the Russians Alexander Baranov, Maxim Odintsov and Evgeny Mefyodov. Contract servicemen Baranov and Odintsov, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, were abducted by the SBU in November 2016 and taken to Ukraine, where they were sentenced to 13 and 14 years respectively for “treason”. Mefyodov was involved in the “riots” case in Odessa on May 2, 2014 as a supporter of “anti-Maidan”. He left the pre-trial detention center on August 19 of this year on bail in the amount of 135 thousand hryvnias ($ 5.3 thousand).
Note that there is no official confirmation of the number of prisoners participating in the exchange. The Kremlin only noted that "there are certain contacts with the Ukrainian side." “Some personalities were not discussed,” said Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Russian president.