Rustem Umerov: Step by step, we are moving toward the “all-for-all” exchange

Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov participated in a meeting of the Coordination Headquarters Council on Prisoners of War, held on the instructions of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The main topic of the meeting was the “thousand-for-thousand” exchange format. 

“We are working to bring our people home as soon as possible.  As a result of negotiations in Istanbul, a significant agreement was reached: a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner-of-war exchange. This is a complex and sensitive process that requires precise coordination among all state institutions,” emphasized Rustem Umerov.

According to him, this is why the Coordination Headquarters Council — a collegial body uniting key institutions, including the Ministry of Defence, the Main Intelligence Directorate, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Ombudsman’s Office — convened to coordinate a joint action plan and implement this agreement as soon as possible. 

The Defence Minister reported that the decisions developed during the meeting will be presented to the President tomorrow.

“We will not stop here. Ukraine consistently advocates for the “all-for-all” exchange. And we are moving toward this goal — step by step. To free all our prisoners of war,” the Ukrainian Defence Minister stated.

He thanked his colleagues — Dmytro Lubinets, Vasyl Maliuk, Kyrylo Budanov, Ihor Klymenko, and Oleh Ivashchenko — as well as partner countries that are helping Ukraine bring its people back from captivity.

Rustem Umerov also noted that today, May 18, marks the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Genocide of the Crimean Tatar People.

“This is another reason to remind the world of our political prisoners in Crimea — hundreds of people who have been held in russian prisons for years for their beliefs, their identity, and their refusal to submit to the occupation.  They are tortured, denied fair trials, and their families live under constant pressure. It is our duty to free each and every one of them,” he added.