Ukraine working on another prisoner exchange with Russia, Zelenskyy says
Ukraine works with Russia to resume prisoner exchanges it could bring home 1,2000 Ukrainian prisoners, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday.
“We are working to ensure a fresh start to the negotiations, so that there is after all a prospect of ending this war,” he wrote on
Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said on Saturday that he had held consultations mediated by Turkey and the United Arab Emirates on resuming trade.
He said the parties agreed to activate prisoner exchange deals negotiated in Istanbul to free 1,200 Ukrainians. Moscow had no immediate comment.
The Istanbul Accords refer to prisoner exchange protocols established with Turkish mediation in 2022, which set rules for large, coordinated exchanges. Since then, Russia and Ukraine have exchanged thousands of prisoners, although the exchanges remain sporadic.
Umerov said technical consultations would be held soon to finalize procedural and organizational details, expressing hope that returning Ukrainians will be able to “celebrate the New Year and Christmas holidays at home, at the family table and next to their loved ones.”
Finnish president warns of likely ceasefire in Ukraine
Finland’s president warned Sunday that a ceasefire in Ukraine was unlikely before the spring and urged European allies to maintain their support despite the corruption scandal that has engulfed kyiv.
President Alexander Stubb told The Associated Press that Europe will need “sisu” — a Finnish word meaning endurance, resilience and courage — to get through the winter months as Russia continues its hybrid attacks and information warfare across the continent.
“I’m not very optimistic about reaching a ceasefire or starting peace negotiations, at least this year,” Stubb said, adding that it would be good to “have something in place” by March.
As leader of one of Europe’s smallest countries, but sharing an 830-mile border with Russia, Stubb is aware of the stakes.
Stubb is leveraging his good relationship with US President Trump – the two have played golf together and speak regularly – to champion Ukraine’s cause.
To bring peace to Ukraine, Stubb said, Mr. Trump and European leaders must maximize pressure on Russia and on President Vladimir Putin to change his strategic thinking. Putin “fundamentally wants to deny Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” goals that have not changed since the war began nearly four years ago, Stubb said.
Russian strikes continue
Energy infrastructure was damaged by Russian drone strikes overnight on Sunday in Ukraine’s Odessa region, Ukraine’s state emergency service said. A solar power plant was among the damaged sites.
Ukraine is desperately trying to fend off relentless Russian air attacks that have caused power outages across the country as winter approaches.
The combined missile and drone strikes on the power grid coincided with Ukraine’s efforts to curb the Russian advance on the battlefield aimed at capturing the eastern stronghold of Pokrovsk.
Russia fired a total of 176 drones and one missile overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force said on Sunday, adding that Ukrainian forces had shot down or neutralized 139 drones.
Ukrainian forces struck a major oil refinery in Russia’s Samara region, as well as a warehouse storing drones for the elite Rubicon drone unit in Russia’s partially occupied Donetsk region, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Sunday. Russian authorities did not immediately confirm the attacks.
Months of long-range Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries have aimed to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to continue the war.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Sunday its forces shot down 57 Ukrainian drones overnight.
