President Volodymr Zelensky said his government had won freedom from Russian custody for 215 Ukrainian and foreign citizens.
He said many were soldiers and officers who had faced the death penalty in Russian-occupied territory.Of the total, 200 Ukrainians were exchanged for just one man — pro-Russian opposition leader Viktor Medvedchuk, who is Ukrainian. The 68-year-old oligarch escaped from house arrest in Ukraine several days before Russia’s invasion Feb. 24 but was recaptured in April.
“It is not a pity to give up Medvedchuk for real warriors,” Zelensky said in a post on his website. “He has passed all the investigative actions provided by law. Ukraine has received from him everything necessary to establish the truth in the framework of criminal proceedings.”
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