Zelenskyy says Ukraine working on new prisoner exchange with Russia

The exchanges person been the lone advancement of immoderate enactment successful negotiations betwixt the 2 countries arsenic the warfare rages connected successful its 4th year.

Ukraine is moving to resume captive exchanges with Russia that could bring 1,200 Ukrainians home, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says, a time aft his nationalist information main announced advancement successful negotiations.

“We are … counting connected the resumption of POW exchanges,” Zelenskyy wrote connected X connected Sunday. “Many meetings, negotiations and calls are presently taking spot to guarantee this.”

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Rustem Umerov, caput of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, said connected Saturday that helium held consultations mediated by Turkiye and the United Arab Emirates connected resuming captive of warfare exchanges, which the 2 sides person carried retired successfully aggregate times.

He said the parties agreed to activate captive speech agreements brokered successful Istanbul to merchandise 1,200 Ukrainians.

The Istanbul agreements notation to captive speech protocols established with Turkish mediation successful 2022 that acceptable rules for large, coordinated swaps. Since then, Russia and Ukraine person traded thousands of prisoners though the exchanges person been sporadic.

But the swaps person been the lone advancement of immoderate enactment successful talks betwixt the 2 sides arsenic the warfare rages connected and different punishing wintertime approaches with lipid and vigor sites being targeted by some Moscow and Kyiv.

Authorities successful Moscow did not instantly remark connected the issue.

Umerov said method consultations would beryllium held soon to finalise procedural and organisational details, expressing anticipation that returning Ukrainians could “celebrate the New Year and Christmas holidays astatine location – astatine the household array and adjacent to their relatives”.

Finland says ‘sisu’ needed

Meanwhile, Finnish President Alexander Stubb told The Associated Press quality bureau that a ceasefire successful Ukraine is improbable earlier the outpouring and European allies request to support up enactment contempt a corruption ungraded that has engulfed Kyiv.

Europe, meanwhile, volition necessitate “sisu”, a Finnish connection meaning endurance, resilience and grit, to get done the winter, helium said, arsenic Russia continues its hybrid attacks and accusation warfare crossed the continent.

“I’m not precise optimistic astir achieving a ceasefire oregon the opening of bid negotiations, astatine slightest this year,” Stubb said, commenting that it would beryllium bully to “get thing going” by March.

In different developments, vigor infrastructure was damaged by Russian drone strikes overnight into Sunday successful Ukraine’s Odesa region, the State Emergency Service said. A star powerfulness works was among the damaged sites.

Ukraine is desperately trying to fend off relentless Russian aerial attacks that person brought rolling blackouts crossed Ukraine connected the brink of winter.

Combined rocket and drone strikes connected the powerfulness grid person coincided with Ukraine’s efforts to clasp backmost a Russian battlefield propulsion aimed astatine capturing the eastbound stronghold of Pokrovsk successful the Donetsk region.

Russia launched 176 drones and fired 1 rocket overnight, Ukraine’s aerial unit said connected Sunday, adding that Ukrainian forces changeable down oregon neutralised 139 drones.

Ukrainian forces struck a large lipid refinery successful Russia’s Samara portion on with a warehouse storing drones for the elite Rubicon drone portion successful partially Russian-occupied Donetsk, Ukraine’s wide unit said connected Sunday. Russian officials did not instantly corroborate the attacks.

Months of long-range Ukrainian drone strikes connected Russian refineries are aimed astatine depriving Moscow of the lipid export gross it needs to prosecute the war.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said connected Sunday that its forces changeable down 57 Ukrainian drones overnight.

It besides said its troops had captured the settlements of Mala Tokmachka and Rivnopillya successful eastbound Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region.