Ukraine set to release 1,200 Ukrainians in resumed prisoner swap with Russia
Photo: Ukrainian Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov (Getty Images)
Ukraine's Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov, announced that Ukraine and Russia will resume prisoner swaps. Ukraine is expected to release 1,200 citizens currently held by Russia.
"On the instructions of the President of Ukraine, I conducted consultations in recent days with the mediation of partners in Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates regarding the resumption of exchanges and the release of our people from Russian captivity," Umerov wrote.
He said that, following these talks, both sides agreed to activate the Istanbul agreements. Technical consultations are expected to take place soon.
"This concerns the release of 1,200 Ukrainians. Technical consultations will happen in the near future. They are intended to finalize all procedural and organizational details," the NSDC Secretary added.
Umerov also emphasized that work is ongoing without pause, "so that Ukrainians returning from captivity can spend New Year and Christmas holidays at home — at the family table and with their loved ones."
Ukraine-Russia negotiations
After US President Donald Trump took office, Ukraine and Russia resumed talks in Istanbul in May.
During three rounds of meetings in May, June, and July, the sides sought to achieve peace. The Ukrainian side repeatedly expressed readiness for a ceasefire and a halt to fighting along the front lines, but the Kremlin refused to agree. Based on Russia's unchanged demands, Moscow does not currently intend to end the war.
At the same time, there was some progress on humanitarian issues. Both sides carried out multiple prisoner exchanges and returned the bodies of fallen soldiers.
However, on November 12, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya said that peace talks with Russia this year ended with little result and are now abandoned.
"With this year's peace talks ending with little progress made, they have now been abandoned," Kyslytsya emphasized.
