Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners hours after the massive attack on Kyiv – my country

Russia and Ukraine Hundreds of prisoners exchanged on Saturday as part of a A major swap reached a rare moment of cooperation In failed efforts otherwise to reach a ceasefire. The stock exchange came hours after Kiev was under a large -scale Russian drone, a missile attack that left at least 15 people.

Ukraine President Voludmir Zellinsky and the Russian Defense Ministry said that each side brought 307 soldiers on Saturday, A day after each of them launched a total of 390 fighters and civilians. The expected additional releases during the weekend are scheduled to make the largest swap in more than three years of war.

“We expect more tomorrow,” Zelinski said on Telegram. The Russian Ministry of Defense also said it expected the exchange to continue, although it has not provided details.

Hours ago, the explosions and aircraft control fire throughout Kiev were heard as many sought shelter at metro stations such as Russian drones and missiles targeting the Ukrainian capital overnight.

in Talks held in Istanbul earlier this month – The first time that the two sides met face to face the conversations of peace since then 2022 Russia is a comprehensive invasion Kiev and Moscow agreed to swap 1000 war prisoners and civilian detainees for each.

“A difficult night”

Officials said that Russia attacked Ukraine with 14 ballistic missiles and 250 drones during the night while the Ukrainian forces shot down six missiles that singled out 245 drones – 128 drones and 117 were thwarted using electronic warfare.

The military administration in the city of Kiev said it is one of the largest missile attacks and drones combined on the capital.

“A difficult night for all of us,” the administration said.

After publishing it on X, Ukraine Foreign Minister Andre Sibha described “clear evidence that increasing pressure on Moscow is necessary to accelerate the peace process.”

Posted on X, UK Foreign Minister David Lami spoke about “another night of terrorism for Ukrainian civilians.”

Lami said of the Russian strike: “These are not the actions of a country that seeks to obtain peace,” Lami said of the Russian strike.

Katrina Machirnova, the European Union’s ambassador to Kyiv, described the attack as “horrific”.

“If anyone still suspects that Russia wants the war to continue – read the news,” wrote Katarina Makhernova on the social network.

Alerting the air raid in Kyiv

The usual wreckage and drones fell in at least six areas of Kiev. According to the president of the city’s military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, six people need medical care after the attack and create two fires in the Kyiv area in Solomianskyi.

The administration said that the Ououlon area, where a residential building was severely damaged in the attack, was the most difficult blow with at least five wounded in the area.

Yuri Bonaradarsuk, a local population, said the alarm sirens “started as usual, then the drones began to fly as they do constantly.” Moments later, he heard a boom and saw the broken glass flying across the air.

“The balcony was completely eliminated, in addition to windows and doors,” he said in the dark, and he smokes a cigarette to calm his nerves while the firefighters worked to extinguish the fire.

Alerting the air strike in Kiev continued for more than seven hours, with a warning from the incoming missiles and drones.

The mayor of Kiev, Vitaly Klitschko, warned the residents before the attack that more than 20 Russian aircraft were heading towards the city. As the attack continued, he said that Drone Debris fell on a commercial center and a residential building in Obolon. Emergency services went to the site.

Separately, 13 civilians were killed on Friday and overnight until Saturday in Russian attacks in southern, east and northern Ukraine.

Three people died after a Russian ballistic missile targeted the port’s infrastructure in Odessa on the Black Sea, the governor of the local state, Ole Kyper, said. Russia later said the strike on Friday targeted a cargo ship carrying military equipment.

On Saturday, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that during the night, its forces hit various military targets throughout Ukraine, including factories that produce missiles and drones, a survey center and an anti -aircraft missile launch site.

A complex deal

The prisoner’s swap on Friday was the first stage of the complex deal that involves the exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side.

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This happened on the border with Belarus, in northern Ukraine, according to a Ukrainian official that occurs, provided that his identity was not disclosed because he was not allowed to speak publicly.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said that the Russians, who were launched to Belarus, for medical treatment.

Their beds arrived at the medical facility in the Chirnhif area for the second day on Saturday. But for many, their arrival was sweet.

Those who were not reunited with their loved ones took condolences in the prisoners issued by providing some information about when their relatives were seen last time.

Anna Marsenko, the daughter of a missing Ukrainian soldier, was naive when a hot prisoner said they were released that they saw her father.

“This is great news. It is like the same fresh air.” “I haven’t seen it, but at least this is some news. At least news gives us the opportunity to continue breathing and living in peace.”

However, the exchange – the last dozens of bodies since the war began and the largest involvement of Ukrainian civilians so far – has not stopped fighting.

The battles continued along the front line, which is approximately 1000 km (620 miles), with tens of thousands of soldiers killed, and none of the countries retreated in its deep strikes.

After the Istanbul meeting on May 16, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Vian described that the prisoner swap “conducting confidence” and said that the parties agreed in principle to meet again.

But a spokesman for Carmelin Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that there has been no agreement so far on the next round of the talks with the continued diplomatic maneuvering.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow will give Ukraine a document that defines its conditions for a “sustainable, long, comprehensive and comprehensive peace agreement”, once the continuous exchange of prisoners has ended.

Away from the main circumstances

European leaders accused the Russian president Vladimir Putin He dragged his feet in peace efforts while trying to pressure the battlefield initiative in his largest army and seize more Ukrainian lands.

The Istanbul meeting revealed that both sides remained away from the main circumstances to end the fighting. One of these cases for Ukraine, backed by its Western allies, is a temporary ceasefire as a first step towards a peaceful settlement.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said that its forces overnight on Saturday shot down more than 100 Ukrainian drones on six provinces in western and southern Russia.

Local state governor Dimitri Milliev said that drones were wounded by three people in the Tula area, south of Moscow.

Andrei Kovalinko, of the National Security and Defense Council in Ukraine, said on Saturday that drones hit a factory in Tula, making chemicals used in explosives and missile fuel.