MOSCOW - Ukrainian authorities and pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country have agreed to swap dozens of prisoners on Sunday, the self-declared rebel republic of Donetsk said.

Both sides had said earlier this month they would carry out a prisoner exchange by the end of the year, following high-profile peace talks in Paris aimed at de-escalating Europe's only active war.

"Kiev and the Donbass (a term used to refer to rebel-held eastern Ukraine) have reached an accord on an exchange of prisoners... this Sunday December 29," Donetsk government spokeswoman Daria Morozova said in a statement.

She said two separatist territories Donetsk and Lugansk will get 87 prisoners, while 55 others will be handed over to Kiev, without giving details on the identity of those involved.

The prisoner exchange is expected to take place near the town of Gorlivka in the separatist-held Donetsk region.

Russian media reported that the operation will take place on the front line.

Ukrainian authorities refused to confirm or deny the exchange.

"We are not commenting on this," Olena Guitlianska, spokesman for the SBU, the Ukrainian security services, told AFP.

Officials at the Ukrainian presidency could not immediately be reached for comment.

The swap would come three months after Ukraine carried out a long-awaited exchange with Russia of 35 prisoners each.

More than 13,000 people have been killed since pro-Russia militias in eastern Ukraine launched a bid for independence in 2014 -- kicking off a conflict that deepened Russia's estrangement from the West. -AFP