Ukraine and Russia are preparing to resume their stalled exchanges of prisoners of war, Kyiv's former defence minister Rustem Umerov says.

The process is expected to restart soon with the aim of bringing back 1200 Ukrainian soldiers from Russian captivity, said Umerov, who is now secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine.

He said he had held talks, on the instructions of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, with mediators in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to revive the prisoner exchanges.

The fundamental issues have been clarified and technical consultations on the implementation will begin shortly so that the soldiers can return home before Christmas, Umerov said on Telegram.

Umerov led Ukraine's negotiating delegation in talks with Russia earlier this year.

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