LPR gets back 34 militiamen in prisoner exchange with Ukraine - ombudsperson

The Lugansk People’s Republic has brought home 34 fighters in the latest prisoner exchange with Ukraine, LPR ombudsperson Viktoria Serdyukova told the Lugansk Media Center.

 

“Ninety Russian servicemen including 34 LPR residents have been released from captivity in the prisoner swap with Ukraine on Tuesday,” Serdyukova said 

She thanked everybody “involved in these difficult but very important negotiations which help the servicemen return home and reunite with their families.

“After initial medical examination by medics and psychologists, we’ll take our defenders to the Republic,” the ombudsperson said.

 

In the prisoner swap on February 4, 63 servicemen including 12 Donbass defenders were brought back from the territory controlled by the Kiev regime. On February 16, 101 Russian servicemen including 44 Donbass defenders returned from Ukrainian captivity.

 

LPR Acting Head Leonid Pasechnik earlier said that the Republic had brought home 65 fighters in the prisoner exchange with Ukraine during the New Year holidays.

 

Serdyukova said that as of December 12, 2022, 150 LPR militiamen had returned from Ukrainian captivity since the beginning of the special military operation. Just before the New Year, the Republic got back another 41 servicemen including 37 LPR militiamen. The LPR ombudsperson said that more than 100 servicemen had been physically abused in captivity.

 

The Ukrainian government launched the so-called anti-terrorist operation against Donbass in April 2014.  The peace talks that began soon thereafter failed to reach tangible results due to Kiev’s position to settle the conflict by force.

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation to protect Donbass residents from Ukrainian aggression on February 24, 2022. Prior to that, LPR and DPR Heads Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin asked the Russian leader to provide military assistance.

 

The Lugansk People’s Republic became a part of Russia on September 30, 2022 following the unification referendum. *i*ie