Deputy Minister for temporarily occupied territories and internally displaced persons of Ukraine Yuriy Hrymchak has said the exchange of prisoners was coordinated with the Russian Federation, not with the pro-Russian militants in Donbas.
"We didn't do a swap with the Donbas terrorists, we did it with the Russian Federation. In fact, the decision to release people was made in Moscow," Hrymchak told a Ukrainian TV Channel 5.
He stressed that any decisions regarding the activities of the so-called "republics" in eastern Ukraine are taken by the Kremlin.
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"During these past weeks we were considering what should be done about it," the official added.