A swap of even 10 or 15 detainees kept in Russia-occupied Donbas could indicate a mutual desire of the parties to begin the process of de-escalating in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a meeting with President' of Germany's Bundestag Wolfgang Schäuble.

During the meeting, the question of ending the war in Donbas and the return of prisoners of war (POW) were discussed, the Ukrainian president's official website reported. In this context Zelensky noted that exchanging people at least 10 for 10 or 15 for 15 could show the desire of the other side to start the process of de-escalation.

The president also announced Ukraine is about to start a project for Donbas development now.

"And here Europe can help. We need to rebuild schools, kindergartens, roads that are not there," Zelensky said.

As reported, Yevhen Marchuk, the then envoy of Ukraine to the Trilateral Contact Group on the peaceful settlement of the situation in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, said on May 23, 2019, that the Russian side had announced the whereabouts of only 27 people from the list of the 107 persons filed by Ukraine as part of the POW swap initiative in the "all for all" format.