Ukraine is actively pursuing the resumption of prisoner exchanges with Russia, aiming to secure the release of over 1,200 Ukrainians.

This initiative was announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky through a video posted on the Telegram messaging app on Sunday.

Zelensky highlighted that numerous meetings, negotiations, and calls are currently focused on this objective.

Additionally, his Security Council Chief, Rustem Umerov, revealed that consultations in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates were held to facilitate these exchanges.

Umerov emphasized support from Ukraine's international partners in achieving this goal.

The discussions led to an agreement to reinstate the Istanbul agreements, a framework established for prisoner exchanges through Turkish mediation in 2022.

These agreements initially facilitated large-scale swaps between Russia and Ukraine.

Although thousands of prisoners have been exchanged since then, the process has remained sporadic and often disrupted by the ongoing conflict that began in February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine.

Umerov stated that further consultations will take place to finalize the procedural and organizational aspects of the prisoner exchange process.

He expressed commitment to the goal of having Ukrainians return home for the upcoming New Year and Christmas celebrations with their families.