Verkhovna Rada envoy hopes for new prisoner exchange in coming weeks

According to Lubinets, Ukraine hopes to return all prisoners of war but understands that Russia may disrupt the exchange process.

"I hope that this year the exchange process will demonstrate consistency. I hope that in the coming weeks, we will once again be able to delight our heroes by bringing them home. And the relatives of prisoners of war - with good news. Everyone is rejoicing, everyone hopes that we will bring everyone back. But let's not forget who we are dealing with, they conduct negotiations deceptively - no one knows when they might again disrupt this repatriation process. But as for Ukraine, we are doing everything possible," he said during the national telethon.

According to him, the current exchange was preceded by a complex process.

"It was complicated by the fact that, in my opinion, the Russian Federation took a position not to conduct a prisoner exchange, to block the return process, and to take civilians hostage to try to undermine the situation in Ukraine from within to the maximum," said Lubinets.

According to Lubinets, Ukraine tried to engage new partners to unlock the process of returning prisoners of war.

"Today we succeeded in this. The United Arab Emirates joined. Kyrylo Budanov reported on this - it was within his competence. I consistently raised the issue of unblocking with the Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tetyana Moskalkova. She also influenced the return of our heroes," he added.

Prisoner exchange

On January 3, Ukraine and Russia conducted the first exchange of prisoners of war in several months. As a result, 230 defenders returned to Ukraine.

The last such exchange took place on August 7, during which 22 soldiers, including two officers and enlisted personnel, returned home.