Russia, Ukraine gearing up for major prisoner swap

MOSCOW (AP) - Officials in Russia and Ukraine have indicated that the two countries are gearing up for a major prisoner swap.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told Russian news agencies on Monday the two countries are discussing a swap involving 24 Ukrainians captured in the Sea of Azov last December.

Earlier on Monday, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's office said that it is likely that a Russian journalist kept in detention in Ukraine is likely to be released.

The Russian envoy for human rights, Svetlana Moskalkova, arrived in Ukraine on Monday on a rare visit and held talks about the captured prisoners with her Ukrainian counterpart.

The flurry of activity around the imprisoned Russians and Ukrainians follows last week's first telephone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.