Ukrainian says 'tortured' in Russia as Moscow, Kyiv exchange more prisoners

Hennadiy Afanasyev and Yuriy Soloshenko arrived in Kyiv on June 14 three weeks after an exchange that brought Nadia Savchenko back to Ukraine after nearly two years in custody in Russia, whose jailing of the military aviator and other Ukrainians has been criticized by the United States, the European Union, and international rights groups. They were pardoned by Putin and exchanged for two people -- also Ukrainians -- who were in Ukrainian custody on charges related to their alleged support for pro-Russian separatism. The releases could suggest that Moscow is seeking to erode support in the West for the continuation of sanctions imposed on Russia over its seizure of Crimea from Ukraine and its support for separatists in a still-simmering conflict that has killed more than 9,300 people in eastern Ukraine since April 2014.