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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Sophie Bateman

Pregnant Ukrainian woman among 14 people freed from Russian captivity in prisoner exchange

Ukraine has safely secured the release of 14 people from Russian captivity, including a pregnant woman.

The prisoner exchange was carried out on Saturday with seven soldiers and seven civilians coming home, deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk announced.

"Today, we carried out a new exchange of prisoners," she wrote in a post on Telegram.

"Fourteen of ours are coming home, seven military and seven civilians. One of the military women is five months pregnant."

She did not say how many Russians had been transferred.

The two nations have swapped prisoners several times during the conflict that began with Russia 's invasion on February 24, and on Thursday Ukraine said Russia had handed over 33 soldiers so far.

Iryna Vereshchuk, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, pictured days before the February invasion (Future Publishing via Getty Imag)

In an interview with the BBC on Friday, Vereshchuk accused Russian forces of deporting large numbers of civilians into Russia and using them as "hostages."

"That's why they captured all these hostages - civilians, women, employees of local councils, to try and use them," she was quoted as saying.

"We know there are more than a thousand hostages there - including almost 500 women," she said, adding that they were being held in prisons and pre-trial detention centres.

Ukraine has been ravaged by Russian air strikes for two months (REUTERS)

She said it was particularly difficult to secure the liberation of female prisoners in the exchanges.

"Now we refuse to hold an exchange with no women in the list," she added.

"That is how we try to somehow rescue our women and civilians."

There have been widespread reports of sexual violence against Ukrainian women in the months since the invasion began, with girls as young as 14 being targeted by soldiers.

Women have been targeted by Russian soldiers (REUTERS)

One female victim was murdered and branded with a swastika after being "tortured" and raped, a politician said in April.

The UK government has been accused of "standing by" and letting the violence happen, with only up to £60million of the promised £220million in humanitarian aid having been delivered to Ukraine so far.

In a sickening audio clip intercepted by Kyiv's security service, a Russian woman can be heard giving her partner permission to rape Ukrainian women as long as he doesn't "tell her anything".

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