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Ukraine and Russia exchanged 307 prisoners Saturday in the second stage of a massive prisoner swap, a rare moment of cooperation between the warring nations — that came hours after air strikes killed more than a dozen Ukrainian civilians.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia’s defense ministry confirmed the exchange of soldiers on Saturday, just a day after each side released a total of 390 combatants and civilians.
Kyiv and Moscow have agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war each, the outcome of failed ceasefire talks earlier this month in Istanbul, Turkey — the first time the two sides met for direct peace talks since Russia’s 2022 invasion.
“Today is the second day of the 1,000-for-1,000 exchange that we managed to negotiate in Türkiye,” Zelensky posted on X Saturday.
“In just these two days, 697 people have been brought home. We expect the process to continue tomorrow.”
Members of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, the State Border Guard Service and the National Guard of Ukraine arrived in buses at a rendezvous point inside the war-torn country, where they hugged each other and draped themselves in Ukrainian flags.
Earlier, an overnight aerial attack on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv injured 15 people, including two children, in one of the heaviest Russian attacks against the city since the war broke out.
Explosions and machine gun fire was heard across the city, forcing residents to run for shelter in underground subway stations.
“It’s terrorism,” Mykyta Kruchan, 22, whose parents live in an apartment building in the district that was hit by Russian drones and ballistic missiles, told the Kyiv Independent.
“We shoot their military buildings, military stuff, centers. … All they do is on purpose.”
A dramatic orange-red glow from the explosions lit up the Kyiv sky, with plumes of smoke blowing across the horizon.
Katarina Mathernová, the European Union’s ambassador to Kyiv, described the attacks as “horrific.”
Outside the capital, at least 13 civilians were killed and dozens more injured in drone strikes, according to local officials.
Zelensky called it a “difficult night” for Ukraine and urged new international sanctions to pressure Russian strongman Vladimir Putin into a ceasefire.
“It is clear that far stronger pressure must be imposed on Russia to get results and launch real diplomacy,” Zelensky said. “We are awaiting sanctions steps from the United States, Europe, and all our partners.”
Only additional sanctions targeting key sectors of the Russian economy will force Moscow to cease fire.”
No additional peace talks are scheduled between the two countries, but Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed the Vatican as a potential location for the next round. Rome had been floated by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio after newly installed Pope Leo XIV vowed to personally make “every effort” to help end the war.
“We shouldn’t waste our brainpower on working out options that are not very realistic,” Lavrow said on Friday. “Imagine the Vatican as the venue for the negotiations — it’s a bit inelegant.
“I think it would not be very comfortable for the Vatican itself to host delegations from two Orthodox countries in these circumstances.”
President Trump met at the Vatican with Zelensky in an iconic sit-down before Pope Francis’ funeral in late April, a face to face which seemed to strengthen the relationship following an infamous February spat in the Oval Office.
Trump has continued to push for ceasefire talks between Ukraine and Russia to bring the war to a close, but has been hesitant to slap new sanctions on the Kremlin.
With wires
English (US)