The latest prisoner of war swap came after Ukraine and Russia both reported drones over their capital cities – with Kyiv’s residents warned of a tough night ahead
Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds more prisoners on Saturday as part of a major swap that amounted to a rare moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire.
In talks held in Istanbul earlier this month Kyiv and Moscow agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war and civilian detainees each. The latest POWs comes after apocalyptic images of explosions and fires were seen during a seven hour missile and drone bombardment on Kyiv overnight. The large-scale Russian drone and missile attack left at least 15 people injured.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia’s defense ministry said each side brought home 307 more soldiers on Saturday, a day after each released a total of 390 combatants and civilians. Further releases expected over the weekend are set to make the swap the largest in more than three years of war.
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“We expect more to come tomorrow,” Zelenskyy said on his official Telegram channel. Russia’s defense ministry also said it expected the exchange to be continued, though it did not give details.
Hours earlier, explosions and anti-aircraft fire were heard throughout Kyiv as many sought shelter in subway stations as Russian drones and missiles targeted the Ukrainian capital overnight. Officials said Russia attacked Ukraine with 14 ballistic missiles and 250 Shahed drones overnight while Ukrainian forces shot down six missiles and neutralized 245 drones — 128 drones were shot down and 117 were thwarted using electronic warfare.
The Kyiv City Military Administration said it was one of the biggest combined missile and drone attacks on the capital. “A difficult night for all of us,” the administration said in a statement.
Posting on X, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called it “clear evidence that increased sanctions pressure on Moscow is necessary to accelerate the peace process.”
Posting on X, U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy spoke of “another night of terror for Ukrainian civilians. These are not the actions of a country seeking peace,” Lammy said of the Russian strike. Katarina Mathernová, the European Union’s ambassador to Kyiv, described the attack as “horrific.”
The prisoner swap on Friday was the first phase of a complicated deal involving the exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side. It took place at the border with Belarus, in northern Ukraine, according to a Ukrainian official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
The exchange — the latest of dozens of swaps since the war began and the biggest involving Ukrainian civilians so far — did not herald a halt in the fighting. The attacks are still ongoing as authorities in Ukraine said the capital again came under a combined aerial drone and missile attack early Sunday, injuring 11.