Zelenskyy expects major prisoner exchange

Zelenskyy said this at a press conference on the results of 2023.

"The process is complicated, maybe the authorities do not communicate enough, I will pass this information to Lubinets and Budanov so that they do communicate and make it more understandable to their families. I understand their pain, this track is working, it has indeed slowed down for reasons on the part of the Russian Federation, but there are relevant, very specific reasons for this. The track will be opened," the head of state emphasized.

Zelenskyy also said that work is underway to bring back "a fairly good number of our guys."

As for the civilians, the President emphasized that they are managing to return the children gradually, with the help of Qatar, which also helps with Ukrainians in Palestine and Israel.

"As for the Crimeans, it's a complicated story, and there is nothing to thank the people's organizations for, as they could do nothing. I worked very hard on this issue with President Erdogan until dear President Erdogan showed the result. These are probably all the tracks we have today. Separately, we are working with some states, such as Switzerland, Norway and some Arab countries, to return our people," he explained.

There is a track where Ukrainian soldiers are exchanged for the Russian aggressors: "As soon as we have, sorry for the expression, an accumulation of enemy resources, we exchange them for our Ukrainian defenders."

"I really hope that our track will work in the near future - this is a military track, such agreements were made," Zelenskyy added.

• The Russian military command plans to send the Bohdan Khmelnytskyi battalion, which consists of Ukrainian prisoners of war, to the front in the near future.
• Russian militants use Ukrainian prisoners of war as human shields during assaults on the battlefield. The Prosecutor General's Office has launched an investigation.