Last weekend, Ukrainians around the globe were overjoyed to hear the news that 35 political prisoners and hostages being held by Russia were returned to Ukraine. They were part of a major Ukrainian-Russian prisoner exchange involving 70 men, 35 from each side. Among them were those whose names had become well-known around the world – the filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, the journalist Roman Sushchenko and 19-year-old Pavlo Hryb – and the 24 servicemen taken into custody with their three naval vessels in November of last year.
Unfortunately, however, the list from the Russian side also contained the name of one Vladimir Tsemakh, who had commanded an air-defense unit of the Russian-supported militants fighting in the Donetsk region. Furthermore, as RFE/RL reported, “he boasted to a separatist news agency in a 2015 video report about how he helped hide the Russian Buk missile system” that shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17), as a result of which all 298 people on board were killed.
His release from prison on his own recognizance on September 5 thanks to a ruling by the Kyiv Court of Appeals portended that he would become part of the major prisoner swap being discussed by Russia and Ukraine. Political analyst Vitaly Portnikov had warned: “This will be Ukraine’s great gift to Putin… It’s obvious that the Ukrainian authorities haven’t thought of the consequences. It’s also a fact that Ukraine’s international reputation will be dragged through the mud, and this will facilitate the rapprochement of the West and Russia at our country’s expense.”
The Dutch had asked Kyiv not to include Mr. Tsemakh in the prisoner exchange. However, it appears that Mr. Zelenskyy had no choice if he wanted to bring home the Ukrainians illegally held by Russia; he said the whole deal would have fallen through if Mr. Tsemakh was not on the list. The Ukrainian president apparently did succeed in delaying the swap so that Dutch investigators had a chance to interrogate this person of interest. Both the Dutch and Australian authorities cited pressure from the Russian Federation as the reason for Mr. Tsemakh’s release and said it would be difficult to ensure that Mr. Tsemakh – now clearly labelled a suspect – faces justice. It has since been reported that Mr. Tsemakh has returned to Russian-held territory in the Donbas, out of reach of the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT).
Meanwhile, the prisoner exchange has been hailed by the U.S., France and Germany as a positive step in the resumption of dialogue between Ukraine and Russia. And there is hope that more prisoner exchanges will be forthcoming – after all, this group of 35 was but a portion of those prisoners illegally held by Russia as part of its continuing war against Ukraine. Many of the newly freed Ukrainian activists have pledged to continue the fight for their freedom.
And, lest anyone think the war is over, there’s news from the frontline that on September 11 two Ukrainian marines, Mykola Obukhovsky and Oleksander Linchevsky, were killed in action. Here it’s worth quoting the words of Mr. Sentsov at his first press conference after his release: “The swap does not mean that Russia is ready to let Ukraine go, to return Crimea and the Donbas, to say ‘live as you wish.’ No, this will not happen. Do not expect it.”