A Prisoner Swap With Russia Tests Ukraine’s President
Whether Zelenskiy decides to give up a key MH-17 witness will shed light on his policy toward eastern Ukraine.
Prisoner swap has implications for the MH17 investigation.
Dmitar Dilkoff/AFP
For months, Ukraine and Russia have been negotiating a major prisoner exchange that would clear the slate for substantive negotiations on ending the war in eastern Ukraine, where Russian-supported separatists have set up two unrecognized statelets, the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DNR and LNR). But so far, despite a series of false alarms, the swap hasn’t taken place; if it does, look for this name among those traded to Russia: Volodymyr Tsemakh.
The presence of Tsemakh, the former DNR air defense commander and a key witness in the investigation of the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 in July 2014, on the list of traded prisoners would send an important signal concerning Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s intentions in further talks with Russia. It would help understand whether Zelenskiy plans to stick to his predecessor Petro Poroshenko’s implacable stance or make painful concessions in order to end the war.