Russia and Ukraine ‘swap hundreds more prisoners’ hours after Kyiv strike

At least 15 people were hurt (AP)

Russia and Ukraine have swapped hundreds more prisoners, according to the Russian defence ministry.

The move is part of a major swap that marks a rare moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire.

The ministry in Moscow said each side brought home 307 more soldiers, a day after each released a total of 390 combatants and civilians. There was no immediate confirmation from the Ukrainian side.

The announcement was made hours after Kyiv suffered a large-scale Russian drone and missile attack that left at least 15 people injured, according to local officials.

Explosions and machine-gun fire were heard throughout Kyiv from Friday night into Saturday morning as many people sought shelter in subway stations.

Another 307 Ukrainian defenders are home. Today is the second day of the 1,000-for-1,000 exchange that we managed to negotiate in Türkiye. In just these two days, 697 people have been brought home. We expect the process to continue tomorrow.

Among those who returned today are… pic.twitter.com/2lfgtsgNlW

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 24, 2025

In talks held in Istanbul earlier this month that marked the first time the two sides met face-to-face for peace talks since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion, Kyiv and Moscow agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war and civilian detainees each.

Russia attacked Ukraine with 14 ballistic missiles and 250 Shahed drones overnight, officials said, adding that Ukrainian forces shot down six missiles and neutralised 245 drones – with 128 drones shot down and 117 thwarted using electronic warfare.

The Kyiv City Military Administration said it was one of the biggest combined missile and drone attacks on the capital.

Drones also hit targets near Kharkiv (Anatolii Lysianskyi/Ukraine’s 127th Separate Brigade via AP)

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

The debris of intercepted missiles and drones fell in at least six city districts of the Ukrainian capital.

According to the acting head of Kyiv’s military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, six people required medical care after the attack and two fires were sparked in the Solomianskyi district of Kyiv.

The Obolon district, where a residential building was heavily damaged in the attack, was the hardest hit. There were at least five people injured in the area, the administration said.

Drones and missiles were used in the attack (AP)

Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, warned residents ahead of the attack that more than 20 Russian strike drones were heading toward the city. As the attack continued, he said drone debris fell on a shopping mall and a residential building in Obolon district of Kyiv. Emergency services were headed to the site, Mr Klitschko said.

The prisoner exchange has not heralded a halt in the fighting.

Battles continued along the roughly 620-mile front line, where tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed, and neither country has relented in its deep strikes.

European leaders have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts while he tries to press his larger army’s battlefield initiative and capture more Ukrainian land.

Kyiv residents took shelter in subway stations such as Kontraktova Ploshcha (AP)

The Istanbul meeting revealed that both sides remain far apart on key conditions for ending the fighting. One such condition for Ukraine, backed by its Western allies, is a temporary ceasefire as a first step toward a peaceful settlement.

Russia’s defence ministry said it had shot down 788 Ukrainian drones away from the battlefield between May 20 and May 23.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired 175 Shahed and decoy drones, as well as a ballistic missile since late Thursday.