Shortly before New Year's Eve, Russia and Ukraine had the largest prisoner exchange in eastern Ukraine in two years. Now Moscow and Kiev are urging a quick ceasefire in the conflict area. The President's Office in Kiev said after a phone call from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj to Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, both sides hoped that a full ceasefire on the front line would be implemented "in the near future". An exact date was not given.
At the Ukraine summit in Paris in early December, it was agreed that the weapons should be at rest by the end of the year. The parties to the conflict in the war zone on the border with Russia constantly accuse themselves of violations of an already agreed cease-fire.
There are still 150 prisoners in Russian prisons
According to the Kremlin, both politicians rated the exchange of around 200 prisoners between the government in Kiev and the pro-Russian separatists as "strengthening mutual trust". Kiev said that more prisoners now had to be released. The exchange last Sunday was also welcomed by the EU.
According to Ukraine, dozens of political prisoners are still held in prisons in Crimea annexed by Moscow and in Russia, as well as dozens of soldiers and civilians in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions occupied by pro-Russian fighters. According to the Ukrainian secret service, there are more than 150 in total.
Putin and Selenskyj exchanged information on congratulations on the New Year during their conversation - this too can be seen as a sign of relaxation between the two countries. Russia and Ukraine had previously agreed on a new gas transit contract. This created a "favorable atmosphere for solving other bilateral problems", the Kremlin said.