Image: Vadim Ghirda/Associated Press
139 Ukrainian troops and 52 rebels were exchanged, according to a separatist official overseeing the prisoner swap at a no man's land location near the village of Zholobok, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of Luhansk.
A busload of Ukrainian soldiers in military fatigues was transported earlier in the day from the main rebel stronghold of Donetsk to a rural spot some 140 kilometers (90 miles) to the northeast, before joining up with other groups of fellow captives.
After arriving at the location near Zholobok, the troops were made to line up and listen to a speech by a rebel representative, who ordered the men to leave the territory claimed by the separatist movements in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
The soldiers — some of them using crutches, while one was carried on a stretcher — then walked for around 3 kilometers (2 miles) to a rendezvous point.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko wrote on his Twitter account that he was informed the process had begun by the national security service.
"In the near time, 140 of our heroes will be free," he wrote, without specifying further. His spokesperson, Svyatoslav Tsegolko, later said 139 Ukrainian soldiers were released Saturday and that another would follow in the coming days.
In the next hour 140 Ukrainian heroes will be on their way home from
captivity, including Donetsk cyborgs and Debaltseve defenders.
— Петро Порошенко (@poroshenko) February 21, 2015
Poroshenko also later confirmed on Twitter that 139 soldiers were "released from captivity."
139 Ukrainian soldiers have been released from captivity.
— Петро Порошенко (@poroshenko) February 21, 2015
The peace agreement signed last week in Minsk
foresees an exchange of all prisoners in the conflict. It is unclear
how many are held in total on both sides, although the Donetsk
separatists have said Ukraine is holding about 580 rebels as prisoners.Elsewhere Saturday, Ukraine's military and the Russia-backed separatist rebels accused each other of continuing to mount attacks a week after a cease-fire was called.
Ukrainian security spokesperson Col. Andriy Lysenko said that one serviceman was killed and 40 wounded in attacks over the past day. He did not reveal the total number of attacks, but said there were 10 mortar attacks on Ukrainian forces in the village of Shyrokyne on the fringes of the strategic port city of Mariupol.
Lysenko said rebels continued to move equipment toward Mariupol. Concerns persist that rebels aim to seize the city, which would aid in establishing a land corridor between mainland Russia and the Russia-annexed Crimea peninsula.
For their part, the rebels claimed that Ukrainian forces launched 15 shelling attacks overnight, including on parts of Donetsk, the largest rebel-controlled city.
The agreement reached in Minsk by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France called for the guns to go quiet on Sunday. The warring sides were supposed to begin drawing back heavy weapons from the front lines on Tuesday, but international monitors say they've seen no sign of that yet.
Russian and Ukrainian military officials overseeing the hoped-for peace process announced on Friday that the Ukrainian government and the rebels had worked out a plan to begin the weapons pull-out.
Heidi Tagliavini, an envoy for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe who led the talks with Russia and Ukraine that also included rebel figures, remained cautiously hopeful. "There is not a single day in the Ukrainian conflict when we can feel sure what the next day will bring," she said.
Additional reporting by Mashable
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