The Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov, announced that consultations have taken place with the mediation of Turkey and the United Arab Emirates regarding the resumption of the prisoner exchange process between Ukraine and the Russian Federation.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Activation of Negotiations and Istanbul Agreements
According to Rustem Umerov, during the negotiations, an agreement was reached to activate the Istanbul agreements, which provide for the release of 1,200 Ukrainian citizens. Technical consultations are expected to take place soon, aimed at “solidifying all procedural and organizational aspects” of the upcoming exchange.
“As a result of these negotiations, the parties agreed to activate the Istanbul agreements. This concerns the release of 1,200 Ukrainians.”
Recent Exchanges and Current Situation
Currently, the Russian side has not officially commented on the statements made by the Secretary of the NSDC. The last prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia took place on October 2, 2025, when both sides returned 185 servicemen each.
According to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, since the beginning of the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation, 69 exchanges have been conducted, resulting in the return of 6,235 Ukrainians from captivity.
On June 2 in Istanbul, the delegations of Ukraine and the Russian Federation agreed on new exchanges, focusing on specific categories. In particular, this concerns the exchange of severely wounded and seriously ill prisoners of war on the principle of “all for all,” as well as young soldiers aged 18 to 25. The issue of returning 6,000 bodies of fallen soldiers was also discussed separately.