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((INTRO)) [[Sunday marked the second wartime celebration of Orthodox Easter in Ukraine. Russian forces and the paramilitary Wagner Group freed more than 100 Ukrainian prisoners of war. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more.]
Content TypePackage
LanguageEnglish
Transcript/ScriptUkraine Orthodox Easter in Wartime (TV)
HEADLINE: Prisoner Exchange Marks Wartime Celebration
TEASER: Ukrainian officials report 130 prisoners released in “great Easter exchange”
PUBLISHED AT: 4-16-23
BYLINE: Arash Arabasadi
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER: Reuters/ Concord Press Service/ Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War/ AP
SCRIPT EDITORS: Page; caw
VIDEO SOURCE (S): Reuters/ Concord Press Service/ Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War/ AP
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO __
TRT: 1:58
NOTE:
VID APPROVED BY: sv
TYPE: TVPKG
UPDATE: ))
((INTRO)) [[Sunday marked the second wartime celebration of Orthodox Easter in Ukraine. Russian forces and the paramilitary Wagner Group freed more than 100 Ukrainian prisoners of war. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more.]]
((FREEING POWS, UNIDENITIFIED LOC, REUTERS, 04/16))
((mandatory cg CONCORD PRESS SERVICE))
((NARRATOR))
Video released on Orthodox Easter Sunday, April 16th, shows the moments the Russian paramilitary Wagner Group freed Ukrainian prisoners of war.
((PRIGOZHIN W/ SOLDIER, UNIDENTIFIED LOC, REUTERS))
((mandatory cg CONCORD PRESS SERVICE))
((NARRATOR))
Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin appeared in an earlier video instructing an unidentified man to feed the prisoners, give them water, and have a doctor examine them before releasing them to Ukraine.
((VAR, RELEASE, UNIDENTIFIED LOC, REUTERS, 04/16))
((mandatory cg COORDINATING HEADQUARTERS FOR THE TREATMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR))
((NARRATOR))
Ukrainian officials called the release of 130 POWs a “great Easter exchange.” It remained unclear as of Sunday morning what Ukraine offered in the deal. And it all
comes in the same week as another large-scale prisoner swap where officials exchanged more than 100 Russian POWs for about the same number of Ukrainians.
((VAR, CAKES IN WOODS, KYIV REGION, UKR, AP, 04/15))
((NARRATOR))
For those still actively fighting in the conflict, Easter Sunday came with a visit from one of Ukraine’s top military commanders bringing a taste of the holidays to the field.
[RADIO TRACK: Commander of the Joint Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Serhiy Nayev, speaking with The Associated Press.]
((Lt. Gen. Serhiy Nayev, Commander of Joint Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces)). ((MAN, UKRAINIAN))
“We are bound to say ‘Thank you’ to our soldiers and congratulate them on this holiday. We have to share a little joy of everyday life, which for now is not available to them. We have to bring a little goodness and holiday spirit to their trenches and fortifications.”
((VAR, CAKES IN WOODS, KYIV REGION, UKR, AP, 04/15))
((NARRATOR))
Officials say they’re sending around 15,000 traditional Easter sweets to their troops. The head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine blessed the cakes.
((VAR, DESTROYED CHURCH, KOMYSHUVAKHA, UKR, REUTERS, 04/16))
((NARRATOR))
Across Ukraine, there are reminders that this is a country at war. Local authorities near Zaporizhzhia say a Russian missile destroyed a church on Easter Sunday. There, locals spent the holiday retrieving icons and paintings from the rubble.
((VAR, DAMAGED CHURCH, CHERNIHIV REGION, UKR, REUTERS, 04/16))
((NARRATOR))
In Ukraine’s Chernihiv region, worshippers gathered outside of a church still bearing the scars of Russian occupation from March of 2022. Ukrainian forces recaptured it by the end of that month.
((VAR, SLOVIANSK DAMAGE, UKR, AP, 04/15))
((NARRATOR))
And while Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrated Easter in Moscow, Ukrainian officials said Russian missile strikes Saturday killed at least 11 people in Sloviansk.
((Arash Arabasadi, VOA News)
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
Washington D.C.
Embargo DateApril 16, 2023 13:50 EDT
Byline
((Arash Arabasadi, VOA News))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
