Ukraine Plans Prisoner Swap With Russia To Free 1,200 Ukrainians

Ukraine is working to resume prisoner exchanges with Russia that could see 1,200 Ukrainians return home, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday, following announcements of progress in talks by his national security chief.

“We are ... counting on the resumption of POW exchanges,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. “Many meetings, negotiations and calls are currently taking place to ensure this.”

Rustem Umerov, Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, told AP on Saturday that consultations mediated by Turkey and the United Arab Emirates had taken place on reviving prisoner swaps. He said the parties agreed to implement Istanbul-brokered agreements from 2022 to release 1,200 Ukrainians. Moscow had not immediately responded, AP reported.

The Istanbul agreements, established with Turkish mediation in 2022, outline rules for coordinated, large-scale exchanges. Since their introduction, thousands of prisoners have been traded between the two sides, although the swaps have occurred irregularly.

Umerov said technical consultations will soon be held to settle procedural and organisational details. He expressed hope that returning Ukrainians could “celebrate the New Year and Christmas holidays at home — at the family table and next to their relatives,” according to AP.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s energy infrastructure was hit overnight by Russian drone strikes in the Odesa region, damaging a solar power plant, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported. The strikes have contributed to rolling blackouts amid Ukraine’s efforts to fend off continuous Russian attacks as winter approaches.

Combined missile and drone attacks have targeted Ukraine’s power grid alongside efforts by Russian forces to advance toward the eastern city of Pokrovsk. Ukraine’s air force said Sunday that 176 drones and one missile were launched overnight, with Ukrainian forces intercepting or neutralising 139 of the drones.

In retaliation, Ukrainian forces struck a major oil refinery in Russia’s Samara region and targeted a warehouse storing drones for the elite Rubicon unit in the partially Russian-occupied Donetsk region, Ukraine’s general staff said Sunday. Russian officials had not immediately confirmed the attacks, AP reported.

Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries have been ongoing for months, aiming to reduce Moscow’s oil export revenue needed to fund its war effort. Russia’s defence ministry stated Sunday that 57 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight.

(With inputs from AP)