It is planned that the Russian side will hand over 12 Ukrainian nationals serving their sentences in Crimean prisons back to Ukraine on March 3, Ukrainian Deputy Justice Minister Serhiy Petukhov said on Facebook on Tuesday.

The Ukrainian side and Russia's FSIN [Federal Penitentiary Service] have arranged the date of handover of 12 Ukrainian citizens who had been serving their sentences in Crimea before being illegally moved to Russia, Petukhov revealed.

He further explained that "these are no political prisoners but Ukrainian citizens convicted by Ukrainian courts and they have the right to return to Ukrainian territory."

"Now the handover is arranged for March 3. We will issue an additional update when our nationals are in our territory," Petukhov said.