The DPR said they were skeptical about the prospects for the exchange of prisoners with Ukraine

“Ukraine really offered 24 people for an exchange.

However, the Kiev negotiators refuse to send a list of these people, ”Morozova said. 

In turn, the list of persons wanted by Ukraine on the territory of the DPR includes 220 people.

However, the situation is that a new stage of the exchange is not possible until the procedural cleansing of persons released in 2019 and 2020 is fully completed, the ombudsman says.

According to the protocols signed on the eve of these exchanges at the level of the contact group, Ukraine was supposed to end the criminal prosecution of all citizens transferred to the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR.

Nevertheless, the criminal cases have not yet been closed.

“The last stages of the exchange took place in December 2019 and April 2020.

According to the agreements, Ukraine had to procedurally clear 51 participants in these exchanges, but since that moment only one of them has undergone procedural clearing, "Morozova told RT.

At the same time, 22 people were put on the wanted list on the territory of Ukraine after the exchange.

In fact, this means that people can still be detained, both when crossing the contact line and when leaving for a third country, convicted and imprisoned.

“In fact, now Ukraine is blackmailing us with the issue of procedural cleaning.

Pardon acts for 13 previously released citizens have been signed by President Zelensky since April 2020.

Now the representatives of Ukraine declare that these acts will be signed if the republics agree to hold a new stage of the exchange, without requiring the fulfillment of obligations on procedural cleansing in relation to the rest of the persons, ”Morozova said. 

All citizens who were transferred to the territory of Ukraine by the DPR and LPR were completely procedurally cleared, the law enforcement agencies of the republics have no complaints against these people.

Responsible for the failure to comply with the agreements in Donetsk is called the SBU, whose representative is included in the Trilateral Contact Group as an expert.

“The Ukrainian delegation in the humanitarian subgroup is represented by Galina Tretyakova, deputy of the Verkhovna Rada.

However, in fact, the SBU is dealing with the exchange issue, ”Morozova explained.

The situation with non-compliance with the agreements is a prototype of how the Minsk agreements will be implemented as a whole, according to Donetsk.

The DPR also recalled that according to the fifth point, before the restoration of control over the border, the Verkhovna Rada is obliged to adopt a law prohibiting the prosecution and punishment of persons involved in the conflict.