Kommersant: Some Ukrainians Convicted in Russia Will Not Participate in Prisoner Exchange between Moscow and Kiev

Some Ukrainians convicted in Russia will not participate in the prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine, Kommersant reports. These are Andrey Zakhtey , Dmitry Shtyblikov, Alexey Bessarabov and Vladimir Dudka, who were tried on charges of preparing sabotage in Crimea.

Kommersant also reported on the prisoner exchange options under consideration. A source close to the negotiations claims that Ukrainians convicted in Russia could be pardoned by decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin in exchange for pardoned Russians convicted in Ukraine.

Ukrainians will be pardoned if they submit appeals to Putin. At the same time, several people, including director Oleg Sentsov , refused to write petitions for pardon - this would entail admitting guilt. If Sentsov does not change his mind, he may be sent to Ukraine to serve the sentence imposed by a Russian court, Kommersant admits.

Ukrainians who are under investigation in Russia may be sent back to their home country so that their cases can be investigated further. Thus, the criminal case of 24 sailors detained in the Kerch Strait may be transferred to Kiev. The sailors' lawyers are not commenting on this, fearing to disrupt the negotiations.

• There are about 30 Ukrainians in Moscow pretrial detention centers, who are being prepared for exchange for Russians convicted in Ukraine. In particular, Oleg Sentsov and journalist Roman Sushchenko , convicted on charges of espionage, were brought to Moscow for exchange.