If it happens, this will be a story with a happy ending for the woman tried by a Russian kangaroo court for her role in fighting against Russian separatists in the Ukraine. It might not be so joyous for those being traded, but that remains to be seen.
Reuters has two reports that are worth reading, if you want to know the facts and not the buzz from RT. Maria Tsvetkova's story in 2015 [http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-captured-specialreport-idUSKBN0OE0YE20150529 ] about the two captured Russians who were "contract soldiers" sent on a special operation. The Russian Embassy calls them "Russian citizens detained in the Luhansk region”. They could be tourists by that description, but both of them claim to be members of the Russian Army, sent by Russia for a secret mission but disavowed by them after their capture. Putin says there are no Russian soldiers in Ukraine. As I described in my third book, The New Cyberwar, these troops have been used to selectively disrupt communications and destroy sensitive sites, as any covert soldier does.
Today's story by Maria and Dmitry Solovyov [http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-savchenko-idUSKCN0YG0U8] gives good descriptions of Nadiya Savchenko and her trial in Russia, her election to the Ukrainian Parliament while a captive, and the trade that is soon to take place. She will no doubt be a hero on her return. The other two will not be.
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