Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that prisoner exchanges are not taking place because Russia is trying to pressure Ukraine in this way, UNN reports.
The pause is understandable why... because for Russia, it's a way to pressure Ukraine. Ukraine is finding its diplomatic pressures on Russia to end the war. Russia understands that prisoner exchanges are an important, painful issue for us, and that's why it's hindering all of this. We will do everything to unblock the exchanges.
He added that the new head of the President's Office, Kyrylo Budanov, who was the head of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, will continue to deal with prisoner exchanges together with the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov.
Recall
The Coordination Headquarters for the first time published data on over 10,000 Russian prisoners of war in Ukraine over almost four years of war. In the incomplete year 2025, more Russians were captured than in 2022 and 2023 combined.