Zelenskyy Confirms Active Work to Resume Prisoner Exchanges With Russia, Targeting 1,200 Returns
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that Ukraine is actively negotiating the resumption of prisoner exchanges with Russia, with the immediate goal of securing the release of 1,200 Ukrainian captives. The effort follows recent high-level consultations in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates aimed at reactivating the Istanbul agreements, though Moscow has not yet offered immediate confirmation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed on Sunday that his government is engaged in intensive efforts to resume the crucial exchange of prisoners of war with Russia, expressing hope that the process could bring home approximately 1,200 Ukrainian captives. In a public statement made via social media, the President noted that a considerable number of “meetings, negotiations and calls are currently taking place to ensure this,” underscoring the priority placed on the diplomatic track. This announcement follows progress reported by Rustem Umerov, the Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, who confirmed holding facilitated consultations mediated by key partners, specifically Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, over the weekend.
Secretary Umerov indicated that the involved parties have agreed to reactivate the Istanbul agreements, a framework of prisoner-exchange protocols originally brokered with Turkish mediation in 2022 that set rules for large, coordinated swaps between the warring nations. While thousands of soldiers have been exchanged through sporadic swaps since the start of the conflict, the process has frequently faced disruption due to escalation in frontline fighting. Umerov expressed the national ambition that, through these renewed efforts, Ukrainians currently held in captivity could potentially be returned to their families in time to celebrate the upcoming New Year and Christmas holidays at home. Meanwhile, Russia has not issued an immediate official comment regarding Ukraine’s push for the large-scale resumption of the exchanges, even as Moscow’s forces simultaneously claimed to have taken control of two additional settlements in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, underscoring the ongoing intensity of the conflict even as diplomatic avenues for humanitarian relief are pursued.
