Ukraine, rebels to release war captives

MINSK, Belarus – Negotiators say an agreement has been reached for the release by year's end of hundreds of people held prisoner in the war between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists.

Representatives of Russia, Ukraine and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe made the agreement Wednesday in talks in the Belarusian capital Minsk.

It covers 470 people, about three-quarters of them held by Ukraine. The exchanges are to take place by the New Year holiday period, said a spokesman for Ukraine's negotiators, Darka Olifer

There have been sporadic previous releases of captives in the conflict that began in 2014, in which more than 10,000 people have died.