Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday proposed swapping all prisoners of war with Russia in a bid to end the ongoing war between the two nations, reported news agency AFP.
"Russia must release Ukrainians. Ukraine is ready to exchange all for all, and this is a fair way to start," Zelensky said, addressing a summit in Kyiv on the third anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war.
In October 2024, Russia and Ukraine exchanged 95 prisoners of war each with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) acting as the mediator, according to reports. The Ukrainian parliament's commissioner for human rights, Dmytro Lubinets, said that it was the 58th instance when both countries exchanged prisoners since the war began in 2022.
Prior to that, both countries released 103 prisoners from each side in September.
Meanwhile, earlier today, Zelenskyy hailed Ukraine's " three years of resistance" and "heroism." This comes a day after Zelenskyy said that he was ready to step down "immediately" as the Ukrainian President if his country was given Nato membership.
Speaking at a presser in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said, "If there is peace for Ukraine, if you really need me to leave my post, I am ready. I can exchange it for Nato."
Zelenskyy also urged US President Donald Trump to provide "security guarantees" against Russian aggression. Speaking on the eve of the third anniversary of the war, Zelenskyy said that he was in talks with the US President over providing key natural resources in exchange for security assistance.
The relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy has remained frosty of late, with the US President calling his Ukrainian counterpart a dictator and urging Ukraine to hold fresh elections. In response, Zelenskyy accused Trump of buying into Russian propaganda.
