Lubinets: There is a preliminary agreement with Russia to make exchanges systematic starting in 2025.

He discussed this in an interview with the "Rada" TV channel, which quotes it on its own Telegram.

According to him, there is now a preliminary agreement that exchanges in 2025 should become systematic, prioritizing the return of seriously ill and severely wounded individuals first.

It was also agreed that every Ukrainian prisoner of war and civilian hostage should receive a package of personal items from Ukraine with the assistance of the ICRC.

“We will see if the Russian side keeps its word,” said Lubinets.

As reported by the Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, 11 exchanges with the Russian side took place in 2024. In total, 3,956 people have already returned from Russian captivity, of which 1,358 returned in 2024.

The previous exchange between Ukraine and Russia occurred on December 30, 2024. A total of 189 Ukrainian defenders were successfully returned home.

The released soldiers include defenders of "Azovstal" and Mariupol, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and Snake Island. Additionally, there are soldiers who defended Ukraine in the Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson directions. They also returned those captured in the Kursk region.

Many Ukrainians had been in Russian captivity for over two and a half years. The defenders suffer from exacerbated chronic illnesses, the consequences of mine-explosive injuries, and severe wounds.