U.S. calls on Russia to immediately release all unjustly imprisoned Ukrainians

“Despite today’s progress, many Ukrainians remain unjustly imprisoned by Russia and its proxies, and Russia continues to unlawfully violate Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. We call on Russia to immediately release all other Ukrainians who remain unjustly imprisoned and to fully withdraw its forces from Ukrainian territory,” the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv said after the latest swap of prisoners between Ukraine and Russia-occupied Donbas.

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“We welcome today’s news of the return of liberated captives from Russia-controlled Donbas and commend the Ukrainian government on its continued efforts to achieve a diplomatic solution to the Russia-instigated conflict in Ukraine,” the Embassy said.

“As we have repeatedly stated, the United States will maintain sanctions against Russia until the Russian government returns control of Crimea to Ukraine and fully implements the Minsk agreements,” it added.

As UNIAN reported, the exchange of prisoners between Ukraine and the two self-proclaimed republics in Donbas took places in two stages on April 16. Twenty Ukrainian citizens were released by Russia-controlled illegal armed formations. Among those released were mainly civilians, as well as two servicemen and one law enforcement officer.