Ukraine says it’s pushing to restart its prisoner exchange deal with Russia a move that could finally bring home about 1,200 Ukrainian captives, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. His message on Sunday made it clear: behind the scenes, talks are happening nonstop, and Kyiv is hoping for a breakthrough soon.
The update came just a day after Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, revealed that new momentum is building in negotiations. He met with mediators from Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, countries that have helped broker prisoner swaps in the past. Umerov said all sides agreed to revive the Istanbul agreements, a set of rules created in 2022 to organize large-scale exchanges. Since then, thousands of prisoners have been traded, though the swaps have happened only occasionally.
For now, Russia hasn’t commented publicly. But Ukraine is hopeful the process will move fast. Umerov said technical talks are coming up to sort out the final details, adding that the goal is for returning Ukrainians to spend Christmas and New Year at home, not in captivity.
While those efforts continue, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb offered a sobering view of the war’s direction. Speaking to The Associated Press, he said he doesn’t expect a ceasefire before spring. He warned Europe to prepare for a tough winter and said the continent needs “sisu” a Finnish word that means grit and determination as Russia continues using hybrid attacks and disinformation.
Meanwhile, inside Ukraine, the war pressed on. Overnight strikes damaged energy facilities in the Odesa region, including a solar power plant. With winter closing in, these Russian attacks on critical infrastructure have already triggered rolling blackouts across the country.
Ukraine’s air force reported a massive wave of 176 drones launched by Russia in just one night, with Ukrainian defenses managing to shoot down or disable 139 of them. At the same time, Ukrainian forces carried out their own strikes, hitting an oil refinery in Russia’s Samara region and a warehouse used for storing drones in occupied Donetsk. Russia hasn’t confirmed those hits, but it did say its troops brought down 57 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Ukraine has been targeting Russian refineries for months, hoping to drain the oil profits that fuel Moscow’s war campaign. On the ground, Russia also claimed new gains, saying its forces captured the settlements of Mala Tokmachka and Rivnopillya in the Zaporizhia region.
As winter approaches, both sides are escalating attacks one trying to bring its people home, the other trying to break through in the east with no sign that the fighting will slow anytime soon.
