Ukrainian armed forces and pro-Russian insurgents on Thursday exchanged 20 prisoners in a goodwill gesture designed to get peace talks aimed at ending the 18-month crisis back on track.

In exchange the Ukrainian side gave up 11 rebels captured in the course of fighting that has claimed more than 8,000 lives and wrecked havoc on what was once the former Soviet republic's industrial heartland.

Five Ukrainian prisoners of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic wore military uniforms, while four more brought from the neighboring pro-Russian Donetsk region wore tattered and unseasonable civilian clothes.

The Ukrainian government believes the rebels are still holding 148 people -- including 59 civilians -- in the two rebel provinces which launched their war in the wake of last year's overthrow of Kiev's Moscow-backed president.

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