Ukraine military says 648 POWs freed by rebels so far under ceasefire

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine was being observed "in general" and that Moscow hoped talks on the status of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions would begin soon.
 
At a news conference with his Malian counterpart Abdoulaye Diop, Lavrov also said that Moscow was concerned by the buildup of Ukrainian troops in certain parts of eastern Ukraine, which could suggest they were readying a strike group.
 
"The ceasefire is being observed in general, but there are incidents when the sides blame each other," he said.

Meanwhile,  a Ukrainian military spokesman said that pro-Russian separatists have released 648 Ukrainian prisoners of war so far under the terms of a ceasefire struck with government forces that came into effect last Friday.

Andriy Lysenko told a daily briefing the Ukrainian side was working to secure the release of about 500 more POWs. He did not
comment immediately on how many rebel POWs the government side would hand over under the ceasefire deal.
 
President Petro Poroshenko said on Monday the rebels had handed over about 1,200 POWs. Lysenko said the president's figure had referred to the total number of POWs and others believed to be held by the separatists.
 
Lysenko also said five Ukrainian servicemen had been killed and 33 had been wounded since the ceasefire began. Earlier, a
defense ministry official had put the death toll among Ukrainian servicemen during the ceasefire at four.