REUTERS
During the withdrawal of Ukrainian armed forces from the town of Debaltseve in eastern Ukraine, 2,130 Ukrainian troops were pulled out, while 112 Ukrainian soldiers were taken prisoner, and talks about their exchange are under way.
This was announced by Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak when opening an exhibition entitled "Presence. Evidence of Aggression of the Russian Troops in Ukraine's Territory" on Kyiv's Mykhailivska Square, an UNIAN correspondent reported.
"The negotiations regarding the prisoners of war are underway. I think this [release] will happen soon if the Minsk agreements are fulfilled. The Ukrainian side has already submitted its [POW] lists," he said.
According to Poltorak, the situation was very difficult on the eve of the withdrawal of the Ukrainian troops from Debaltseve, but the military did their duty to the very end. "You know from history that it's not always advance, retreat happen sometimes to save personnel, equipment, weapons, and conduct an attack in future," he said.
The minister claims the decision to withdraw the Ukrainian troops was correct. "Armchair warriors can give any assessment, yet, the decision was taken with due regard for that situation, and it was absolutely correct," Poltorak said.