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Ukraine is moving with Russia to resume prisoner exchanges that could bring location 1,2000 Ukrainian prisoners, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said connected Sunday.
"We are moving to guarantee different commencement to negotiations, truthful that aft each determination is simply a imaginable to extremity this war," helium wrote connected X. "We are besides counting connected the resumption of POW exchanges – galore meetings, negotiations, and calls are presently taking spot to guarantee this."
Rustem Umerov, Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said Saturday helium held consultations mediated by Turkey and the United Arab Emirates connected resuming exchanges.
He said the parties agreed to activate captive speech agreements brokered successful Istanbul to merchandise 1,200 Ukrainians. Moscow did not instantly comment.
The Istanbul agreements notation to prisoner-exchange protocols established with Turkish mediation successful 2022 that acceptable rules for large, coordinated swaps. Since then, Russia and Ukraine person traded thousands of prisoners, though exchanges person been sporadic.
Umerov said method consultations would beryllium held soon to finalize procedural and organizational details, expressing anticipation that returning Ukrainians could "celebrate the New Year and Christmas holidays astatine location — astatine the household array and adjacent to their relatives."
Finnish president warns nary ceasefire apt soon successful Ukraine
The president of Finland warned Sunday that a ceasefire successful Ukraine is improbable earlier the outpouring and urged European allies to support up enactment contempt a corruption ungraded that has engulfed Kyiv.
President Alexander Stubb told the Associated Press that Europe volition necessitate "sisu" — a Finnish connection meaning endurance, resilience and grit — to get done the wintertime months arsenic Russia continues its hybrid attacks and accusation warfare crossed the continent.
"I'm not precise optimistic astir achieving a ceasefire oregon the opening of bid negotiations, astatine slightest this year," Stubb said, adding it would beryllium bully to "get thing going" by March.
As the person of 1 of Europe's smaller countries, but 1 that shares an 830-mile borderline with Russia, Stubb is alert of what's astatine stake.
Stubb leverages his bully narration with U.S. President Trump — the 2 men person played play unneurotic and talk regularly — to reason the lawsuit for Ukraine.
To bring bid to Ukraine, Stubb said, Mr. Trump and European leaders request to maximize unit connected Russia and connected President Vladimir Putin successful bid to alteration his strategical thinking. Putin "basically wants to contradict the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine," aims that person not altered since the warfare began astir 4 years ago, Stubb said.
Russian strikes continue
Energy infrastructure was damaged by Russian drone strikes overnight into Sunday successful Ukraine's Odesa region, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said. A star powerfulness works was among the damaged sites.
Ukraine is desperately trying to fend disconnected relentless Russian aerial attacks that person brought rolling blackouts crossed Ukraine connected the brink of winter.
Combined rocket and drone strikes connected the powerfulness grid person coincided with Ukraine's efforts to clasp backmost a Russian battlefield propulsion aimed astatine capturing the eastbound stronghold of Pokrovsk.
Russia fired a full of 176 drones and 1 rocket overnight, Ukraine's aerial unit said Sunday, adding that Ukrainian forces changeable down oregon neutralized 139 drones.
Ukrainian forces struck a large lipid refinery successful Russia's Samara region, on with a warehouse storing drones for the elite Rubicon drone portion successful the partially Russian-occupied Donetsk region, Ukraine's wide unit said Sunday. Russian officials did not instantly corroborate the attacks.
Months of Ukrainian long-range drone strikes connected Russian refineries person aimed to deprive Moscow of the lipid export gross it needs to prosecute the war.
Russia's defence ministry said Sunday that its forces changeable down 57 Ukrainian drones overnight.
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