Ukraine is working to resume the exchange of prisoners with Russia, hoping for the release of 1,200 Ukrainians.
According to SCMP, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a day after his national security chief announced progress in negotiations on Sunday, November 16, announced progress regarding in prisoner swap.
“We are … counting on the resumption of POW exchanges,” Zelensky wrote on social media. “Many meetings, negotiations and calls are currently taking place to ensure this.”
Rustem Umerov, Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, said on Saturday he held consultations mediated by Turkey and the United Arab Emirates on resuming exchanges.
He said the parties agreed to activate prisoner exchange agreements brokered in Istanbul to release 1,200 Ukrainians. Moscow did not immediately comment on the claim.
The Istanbul agreements refer to prisoner-exchange protocols established with Turkish mediation in 2022 that set rules for large, coordinated swaps. Since then, Russia and Ukraine have traded thousands of prisoners, though exchanges have been sporadic.
Umerov said technical consultations would be held soon to finalise procedural and organisational details, expressing hope that returning Ukrainians could “celebrate the New Year and Christmas holidays at home, at the family table and next to their relatives.”
In other developments, Russian drone strikes damaged energy infrastructure overnight into Sunday in Ukraine’s Odesa region, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said. A solar power plant was among the damaged sites.
