Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov returns to Kyiv after prisoner swap, vows to focus on filmmaking

Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov arrived in Kyiv following a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia, after being moved from a penal colony in northern Russia to a Moscow jail. He was arrested in 2014 in Crimea on suspicion of plotting terrorist acts, serving a twenty-year sentence in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug above the Arctic Circle. In May 2018, Sentsov went on hunger strike to protest what he called a politically motivated arrest and trial. At a press conference on Tuesday, he stated he has no intention of entering politics and simply wants to make films and live. His release involved negotiations between the two countries, with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky indicating willingness to hand over Kirill Vyshinsky, the Kyiv editor of Russian state-run RIA Novosti, who was given bail last week after being accused of supporting pro-Russian separatists. Sentsov gained acclaim for his 2011 feature Gamer, which depicts a computer game-addicted teenager. The swap was rumored but not confirmed until last week.