The exchange of prisoners was being carried out at a checkpoint near Horlivka, a city in the eastern Donetsk region. Ukraine handed over 246 prisoners in exchange for 74 people who had been taken captive by separatist forces. In a phone call in November, Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, had urged the separatist leaders to exchange prisoners with the Ukrainian government. More than 10,000 people have been killed and 1.5 million displaced in eastern Ukraine since fighting erupted there almost four years ago. The United States said last week that it was sending lethal weapons to Kiev to help it fight pro-Russia separatist forces.

Source: The Guardian December 27, 2017 16:00 UTC