Ukraine is working to restart prisoner exchanges with Russia, with officials hoping to secure the release of 1,200 Ukrainians, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the head of the country’s National Security and Defence Council have announced.
Ukraine is working to restart prisoner exchanges with Russia, with officials hoping to secure the release of 1,200 Ukrainians, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the head of the country’s National Security and Defence Council have announced.
In a video message posted on Telegram on Sunday, President Zelenskyy said that renewed exchanges had become a central focus of ongoing diplomacy.
“We are … counting on the resumption of exchanges,” he said. “Many meetings, negotiations and calls are now devoted to this.”
Security chief Rustem Umerov said he had held consultations in Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates, with support from Kyiv’s international partners, aimed at bringing the stalled exchange process back on track.
According to Umerov, the discussions led to an agreement to return to the Istanbul understandings, the prisoner-exchange framework brokered with Turkish mediation in 2022.
“This concerns the release of 1,200 Ukrainians,” he said in a Telegram statement.
Moscow has not immediately commented on Ukraine’s statements.
Istanbul agreements back in focus
The Istanbul agreements outline procedures for large-scale, coordinated prisoner swaps between Russia and Ukraine. The mechanism enabled the exchange of thousands of detainees over the past two years, though the process has often been disrupted by shifts on the frontline and wider escalation.
Umerov said further consultations will be held soon to finalise the procedural and organisational details required to restart the exchanges.
Kyiv hopes for returns before year-end holidays
The Ukrainian government says its goal is to secure releases in time for the winter holidays.
“We are working without pause so that Ukrainians who are to return from captivity can celebrate New Year and Christmas at home – at the family table and with their loved ones,” Umerov said.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains limited on Thursday, with no increase in vessel crossings as U.S.-Iran talks to res...
Kazakhstan will vote on 23 August in its first parliamentary election under the new Constitution, choosing 145 members of the new Kurultai under a ...
Syria says it assured Israel that Türkiye had no plans to establish a military presence at the Abu al-Duhur airbase before Israeli forces stru...
The collective-defence agreement between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signals that regional powers no longer want to rely solely on external security guarantees. Whether it becomes a stabilising deterrent or another axis of rivalry remains unresolved.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed, according to the latest data, as uncertainty over the waterway’s reopening kept most shipowners away. Six commodity vessels crossed the strait on Tuesday, down from nine the day before and below the 10-day daily average of 11.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains limited on Thursday, with no increase in vessel crossings as U.S.-Iran talks to resolve the conflict remained stalled. Nine commodity vessels transited the key waterway on Wednesday, unchanged from the previous day, according to Kpler data.
Iran has said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the U.S. fulfils the terms of an interim deal, including lifting the maritime blockade and sanctions and releasing Iran’s frozen assets.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 19th of August, covering the latest developments.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains limited on Thursday, with no increase in vessel crossings as U.S.-Iran talks to resolve the conflict remained stalled. Nine commodity vessels transited the key waterway on Wednesday, unchanged from the previous day, according to Kpler data.
Kazakhstan will vote on 23 August in its first parliamentary election under the new Constitution, choosing 145 members of the new Kurultai under a fundamentally changed electoral system based entirely on party lists.
Five years after Evergrande's debt crisis rattled global markets, founder Hui Ka Yan has been sentenced to life in prison, marking a dramatic new chapter in the downfall of China's former property giant.
South Korea estimates North Korea possesses between 80 and 120 nuclear warheads, its defence minister said on Thursday, citing a range significantly higher than U.S. President Donald Trump's recent assertion that Pyongyang has 57 nuclear weapons.
Russian ballistic missile strikes on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv has killed at least sixteen people and injured more than forty others, Ukrainian officials said, with fires reported across the city and Poland activating defensive air operations.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment