POW exchange between Ukraine and Russia expected soon – Zelenskyy
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a prisoner-of-war exchange in the near future amid talks in Abu Dhabi.
The head of state said this in a video address on February 4, Censor.NET reports.
On the talks and the exchange
Zelenskyy heard a report from the Ukrainian delegation after today’s meetings, there was a trilateral format. There were also contacts between the team and the US side. Rustem Umerov, Kyrylo Budanov and Davyd Arakhamiia reported.
"We discussed the interim results of the talks today. They will continue tomorrow. There will also be a significant step: we expect a prisoner-of-war exchange in the near future. We need to bring the prisoners home," he stressed.
"And overall, our Ukrainian position is very clear: the war must be ended for real. It is Russia that must be ready for this. And partners must also be ready to ensure this for real with their real guarantees, security guarantees, with their real pressure on the aggressor. And so that it is felt now, so that people in Ukraine feel it, that the situation is truly moving toward peace, toward the end of the war, and not toward Russians using everything to their advantage and continuing strikes.
There must be no rewards for the aggressor. If there is any reward for the aggressor, Russia will eventually derail any agreement," the president added.
Background
- Earlier, it was reported that Russia had stalled a large prisoner exchange that had been agreed earlier and was supposed to take place before the New Year. Now they "want general agreements".
- President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said that Russia had postponed the agreements on the prisoner-of-war exchange reached in late 2025.
