Many of released hostages were sentenced to be shot – Poroshenko

Monday, December 29, 2014 - 15:07 (EET) Section: Latest news

President Poroshenko called the release from captivity of 150 Ukrainian military a positive ending of the year.
He said this at a press conference.
“It was not just the release of hostages, which took place gradually. These hostages were denied the release for six months. Many of them were sentenced to be shot because they were soldiers of volunteer battalions, volunteer units, soldiers of the National Guard,” Poroshenko said.
According to him, only extremely active and well-coordinated steps allowed Ukrainian soldiers to celebrate the New Year at home.
The President added that negotiations for the release of the remaining part of Ukrainians continue. According to him, a working group was set up, which is working for prisoners to be released not in the mode of exchange.