Arrangements have been made to activate the Istanbul agreements, as part of which 1,200 Ukrainians are to be released from Russian captivity, Rustem Umierov, Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council (NSDC), has announced.

Source: Umierov on Facebook

Quote: "On the instructions of the President of Ukraine, in recent days I held consultations mediated by our partners in Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates regarding the resumption of the exchange process and the release of our people from russian captivity.

As a result of these negotiations, the parties agreed to activate the Istanbul arrangements. This concerns the release of 1,200 Ukrainians."

Details: Umierov reported that technical consultations will take place shortly to formalise all procedural and organisational aspects.

"We are working without pause so that the Ukrainians who are to return from captivity can spend the New Year and Christmas holidays at home – at the family table and alongside their loved ones," he added.

Background: On 11 November, Umierov stated that he had arrived in Türkiye to "unblock the exchange issue" to bring Ukrainians home from Russian captivity.

Meanwhile, a source told Ukrainska Pravda that the Coordination Headquarters, which handles POW swaps, learned about Umierov's trip from the media.

For reference: After three rounds of talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul, agreements were reached, particularly an "all-for-all" exchange covering severely ill and seriously wounded soldiers as well as POWs under the age of 25. Because of the complexity of negotiations with Russia, this type of swap was treated as a separate case.

In addition, negotiations with Russia on routine POW exchanges are ongoing.

The most recent release from Russian captivity took place on 2 October, when 185 military personnel and 20 civilians were freed – some under the Istanbul agreements and others as part of Ukraine and Russia's 69th prisoner exchange.

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