Ukraine's envoy to the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) for the Donbas settlement, former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma (1994-2005) has said 43 persons who do not have any relation to the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) but whose inclusion in the release list representatives of the self-proclaimed republics insist on have been removed.

"Some 43 persons who have no relation to the ATO zone have been 'kicked off' the list. They are persons who fired weapons on Independence Square [on the Maidan in Kyiv early in 2014] as well as those who were involved in events which took place on May 2 [tragic fire in Odesa on May 2, 2014] and other nefarious affairs on Ukrainian territory," Kuchma said during a briefing in Dnipro before a ceremony to award presidential scholarships from his Ukraina Foundation.

Kuchma said Ukraine's negotiating team is experienced. "We have a serious group of negotiators headed by Iryna Gerashchenko [First Deputy Chairperson of Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada and TCG representative in the humanitarian subgroup]. She is thorough and able to represent Ukraine's interests. The president picked the right person. And [special representative from Ukraine on humanitarian issues Viktor] Medvedchuk – who has direct access both to Russia and the leaders of occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions," Kuchma said.

Kuchma added that representatives of the self-proclaimed republics use the relatives of people with no ties with the ATO to exert pressure on Ukraine.

"They simply use them to put pressure on Ukraine. We cannot agree to this, of course, because it would be giving in to them," Kuchma said, adding that he hopes this problem can be solved. According to him, there will be a search for new ways to solve the problem.