KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine is working to renew prisoner exchanges with Russia that would carry residence 1,200 Ukrainian prisoners, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned Sunday, a day after his nationwide safety chief introduced progress in negotiations.
“We’re … relying on the resumption of POW exchanges,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. “Many conferences, negotiations and calls are presently happening to make sure this.”
Rustem Umerov, Secretary of Ukraine’s Nationwide Safety and Protection Council, mentioned Saturday he held consultations mediated by Turkey and the United Arab Emirates on resuming exchanges.
He mentioned the events agreed to activate prisoner change agreements brokered in Istanbul to launch 1,200 Ukrainians. Moscow didn’t instantly remark.
The Istanbul agreements seek advice from prisoner-exchange protocols established with Turkish mediation in 2022 that set guidelines for giant, coordinated swaps. Since then, Russia and Ukraine have traded 1000’s of prisoners, although exchanges have been sporadic.
Umerov mentioned technical consultations can be held quickly to finalize procedural and organizational particulars, expressing hope that returning Ukrainians may “have fun the New Yr and Christmas holidays at residence — on the household desk and subsequent to their family members.”
In different developments, power infrastructure was broken by Russian drone strikes in a single day into Sunday in Ukraine’s Odesa area, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service mentioned. A solar energy plant was among the many broken websites.
Ukraine is desperately making an attempt to fend off relentless Russian aerial assaults which have introduced rolling blackouts throughout Ukraine getting ready to winter.
Mixed missile and drone strikes on the facility grid have coincided with Ukraine’s efforts to carry again a Russian battlefield push aimed toward capturing the japanese stronghold of Pokrovsk.
Russia fired a complete of 176 drones and one missile in a single day, Ukraine’s air power mentioned Sunday, including that Ukrainian forces shot down or neutralized 139 drones.
Ukrainian forces struck a serious oil refinery in Russia’s Samara area, together with a warehouse storing drones for the elite Rubicon drone unit within the partially Russian-occupied Donetsk area, Ukraine’s basic employees mentioned Sunday. Russian officers didn’t instantly affirm the assaults.
Months of Ukrainian long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries have aimed to deprive Moscow of the oil export income it must pursue the warfare.
Russia’s protection ministry mentioned Sunday that its forces shot down 57 Ukrainian drones in a single day.
