REUTERS

According to the agency, the Ukrainian government has taken such a goodwill gesture with the hope to finally "unfreeze" the process of exchange of prisoners, which has been blocked by the militants.

"We are ready to make concessions on this issue in order to quickly return our prisoners to their families," Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Vasyl Hrytsak said. According to him, Ukraine has also initiated the exchange of 58 Ukrainian hostages for 228 supporters of the separatists.

Read alsoUkraine to release 15 Donbas convicts, expects "humanism" in response"The SBU will make every effort to make this exchange took place before the Christmas holidays," Hrytsak said.

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The press secretary of the Security Service of Ukraine Olena Hitlyanska told UNIAN that the handover took place near the village of Maiorsk on Thursday in the framework of the Ukrainian promise to release 15 militants, who had been detained in the Ukrainian-controlled territory.