A convoy is carrying over 300 captives to be exchanged for Ukrainian soldiers captured by the self-proclaimed Donbas republics to the exchange point, and employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) are accompanying it, Verkhovna Rada First Vice-Speaker and Ukrainian representative to the humanitarian subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, Iryna Gerashchenko, said on her Facebook page on December 27.
"The convoy carrying the (306) listed persons accompanied by ICRC representatives is on its way," Gerashchenko said.
The ICRC employees have had a chance "to speak freely with those who will be exchanged for the sake of getting back our guys," Gerashchenko said. "The ICRC has confirmed it had a chance to privately speak with everyone," he said.
The Hromadske website said earlier, citing its sources, that the exchange would take place on Wednesday at the Mayorske checkpoint on the contact line near Horlivka in Donetsk region.
