• Through Istanbul-mediated processes 'more than two and a half thousand' Ukrainian POWs already returned, according to Zelenskyy

ISTANBUL

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday said he hopes to renew large-scale prisoner exchanges with Russia by the end of the year, praising Türkiye’s mediation efforts and saying Kyiv “trusts the strength of Turkish diplomacy” to advance the process.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, Zelenskyy said the two leaders held a “very productive and meaningful” meeting and underlined that Ukraine “greatly values the trust” between the two states and their peoples.

“Today we are in Türkiye, and as always, we had a very productive conversation with President Erdogan. Ukraine truly appreciates the trust that exists between us,” he said.

He thanked Türkiye for maintaining a principled stance on the Russia-Ukraine war and for its clear support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“It is not our first meeting this year, and for that we wish to extend our gratitude,” Zelenskyy said, adding that Ankara’s cooperation “helps our lives” and contributes directly to Ukraine’s defense needs.

Prisoner exchanges and Türkiye's efforts

Zelenskyy thanked Erdogan for Türkiye’s contribution to past exchanges, saying that through Istanbul-mediated processes “more than two and a half thousand” Ukrainian prisoners of war have already returned or were on the way home.

“I hope to restart prisoner swaps with Russia by the end of the year, and Türkiye provides great support for this,” the Ukrainian president added.

He stressed that Kyiv is making intensive efforts to restart prisoner exchanges and secure the return of Ukrainian military personnel and civilians held in Russia, including Crimean Tatar political and religious detainees.

Zelenskyy thanked Türkiye for its cooperation “in all the work we are doing together,” including continued defense coordination and joint production projects.

He said Ukrainian and Turkish teams would now work on the decisions reached during the talks.

The three rounds of renewed talks held in Istanbul this year focused on prisoner and civilian exchanges, and both sides also exchanged memorandums outlining their positions on ending the war.

Ankara also arranged talks in 2022, when the war began, and later brokered the Black Sea grain deal to facilitate the export of grain and fertilizers from Ukrainian ports.