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| Ukraine and rebels trade prisoners in Donetsk | Ukraine and rebels trade prisoners in Donetsk |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine have exchanged scores of prisoners with the Ukrainian government near the rebel-held city of Donetsk. | |
| The rebels handed over 150 soldiers in exchange for at least 222 people held by the government. | |
| Unverified images on Twitter show rows of men in civilian clothes standing on a road, supervised by armed men. | Unverified images on Twitter show rows of men in civilian clothes standing on a road, supervised by armed men. |
| Inconclusive talks were held this week in Minsk, Belarus, on ending a conflict which has claimed 4,700 lives. | Inconclusive talks were held this week in Minsk, Belarus, on ending a conflict which has claimed 4,700 lives. |
| Although fighting has lessened considerably, the conflict continues and more than 1,300 people have died since a truce was announced in September, the BBC's David Stern reports from Kiev. | |
| Kiev accuses Moscow of actively supporting the the militants with Russian soldiers and heavy artillery. The Kremlin denies this but says its regular forces are fighting in eastern Ukraine as volunteers. | |
| Mothers and sons | |
| The prisoner swap, which was heavily covered by Russian media, took place 35km (22 miles) north of Donetsk, according to Russian news agency Ria-Novosti. | |
| It was the largest exchange of prisoners since the start of the conflict in April, the news agency said. | |
| There is some dispute over whether 225 or 222 people were released by the government side. | |
| The peace talks in Minsk broke up on Wednesday with no indication of when they would be resumed. | |
| In another development, three Ukrainian soldiers held by rebels in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine were released to their families on Friday. | |
| No conditions were set for their release, according to the European Photopress Agency, which released pictures. | |
| Ukraine: the human cost | |
| Source: United Nations 16 December |