Two British soldiers fighting for Ukraine that were sentenced to death by firing squad after being captured by Russian forces could be spared in a swap deal.
Shaun Pinner, 48, and Aiden Aslin, 28, were convicted in a 'sham' trial staged by Vladimir Putin's regime in Donetsk.
Yet Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine's ambassador to the UK, said he thinks the two Britons captured in the Donetsk People's Republic and sentenced to death will be released in exchange for prisoners held by Ukrainian forces.
Oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, 67, known as Vladimir Putin's 'man in Ukraine', could be the key to the British men's fate.
The death penalties handed out to Mr Pinner and Mr Aslin could be a tactic by Russia to increase pressure on getting Medvedchuk, who is currently in Kyiv's custody.