President Petro Poroshenko
announced the news late on May 22, stressing that “Our warrior has
been released, not exchanged,” in comments on Twitter.
Thirty-eight-year-old Oleg
Kuzminykh fell into the hands of rebel fighters on Jan. 20, while he
and other Ukrainian soldiers defended the Donetsk Airport from
separatist forces. A video quickly went viral of Kuzminykh being
paraded through the center of Donetsk and beaten by pro-Russian
fighters, causing many to fear the worst.
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His capture came at a time
of heightened tensions, as the rebels blamed Kuzminykh and his men
for a recent shelling of Donetsk that killed several civilians.
Earlier, the separatist
side had repeatedly refused to release Kuzminykh as part of the
ongoing prisoner swap.
Four other Ukrainian
prisoners were initially set to be released along with Kuzminykh,
though volunteers involved in the negotiations said on May 22 that
those men likely stayed behind.
“Most likely, these four
people will be shown on camera saying they want to stay in Donetsk,”
volunteer Viktor Maistrenko said.
Maistrenko said he had no
further details on the fate of the four men or why they likely stayed
behind.
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