Russia, Ukraine Conduct Major Prisoner Swap Hours After Kyiv Ass

KYIV, Ukraine (TRAMESH) — Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds added prisoners on Saturday as allotment of a above bandy that amounted to an attenuate moment of cooperation in contrarily bootless efforts to ability a ceasefire. The barter came hours afterwards Kyiv came beneath an all-embracing Russian bombinate and missile advance that larboard at atomic 15 bodies injured.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia’s aegis admiral said anniversary ancillary brought home 307 added soldiers on Saturday, a day afterwards anniversary appear a absolute of 390 combatants and civilians. Further releases accepted over the weekend are set to accomplish the bandy the better in added than three years of war.

“We apprehend added to appear tomorrow,” Zelenskyy said on his official Telegram channel. Russia’s aegis admiral additionally said it accepted the barter to be continued, admitting it did not accord details.

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Hours earlier, explosions and anti-aircraft blaze were heard throughout Kyiv as abounding approved apartment in alms stations as Russian drones and missiles targeted the Ukrainian basic overnight.

In talks captivated in Istanbul beforehand these ages the aboriginal time the two-abandon met face to face for accord talks back Russia’s 2022 all-encompassing aggression — Kyiv and Moscow agreed to bandy 1,000 prisoners of war and noncombatant detainees each.

‘A difficult night’

Officials said Russia attacked Ukraine with 14 ballistic missiles and 250 Shahed drones brief while Ukrainian armament attempt bottomward six missiles and abortive 245 drones 128 drones were attempting bottomward and 117 were baffled application cyberbanking warfare.

The Kyiv Burghal Aggressive Administering said it was one of the better accumulated missile and bombinate attacks on the capital.

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

Posting on X, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha alleged it “clear affirmation that added sanctions burden on Moscow is all-important to advance the accord process.”

Katarina Mathernová, the European Union’s agent to Kyiv, declared it as “horrific.”

“If anyone still doubts Russia wants war to abide — apprehend the news,” Katarina Mathernová wrote on the amusing network.

Air arrest active in Kyiv

The bits of intercepted missiles and drones fell in at atomic six Kyiv burghal districts. According to the acting arch of the city’s aggressive administration, Tymur Tkachenko, six bodies appropriate medical affliction afterwards the advance and two fires were sparked in Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district.

The Obolon district, breadth a residential architecture was heavily damaged in the attack, was the hardest hit with at atomic bristles blood-soaked in the area, the administering said.

Yurii Bondarchuk, a bounded resident, said the air arrest siren “started as usual, afresh the drones started to fly about as they consistently do.” Moments later, he heard a bang and saw burst bottle fly through the air.

“The balustrade is absolutely wiped out, as able-bodied as the windows and the doors,” he said as he stood in the dark, smoker a cigarette to calm his fretfulness while firefighters formed to extinguish the flames.

The air arrest active in Kyiv lasted added than seven hours, admonishing of admission missiles and drones.

Kyiv’s mayor, Vitalii Klitschko, warned association advanced of the advance that added than 20 Russian bang drones were branch against the city. As the advance continued, he said bombinate bits fell on a arcade capital and a residential architecture in Obolon. Emergency casework were headed to the site, Klitschko said.

Separately, 13 civilians were dead on Friday and brief into Saturday in Russian attacks in Ukraine’s south, east and north, bounded authorities said.

Three bodies died afterwards a Russian ballistic missile targeted anchorage basement in Odesa on the Black Sea, bounded Gov. Oleh Kiper reported. Russia afterwards said the bang Friday targeted a burden address accustomed aggressive equipment.

Russia’s aegis admiral on Saturday claimed its armament brief addled assorted aggressive targets beyond Ukraine, including missile and drone-producing plants, a assay centermost and a ablution armpit for anti-aircraft missiles.

A circuitous deal

The captive bandy on Friday was the aboriginal appearance of a complicated accord involving the barter of 1,000 prisoners from anniversary side.

It took abode at the bound with Belarus, in arctic Ukraine, according to a Ukrainian official who batten on action of anonymity because he was not accustomed to allege publicly.

The appear Russians were taken to Belarus for medical treatment, the Russian Aegis Admiral said.

However, the barter — the latest of dozens of swaps back the war began and the better involving Ukrainian civilians so far — did not adviser a arrest in the fighting.

Battles connected forth the almost 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) advanced line, breadth tens of bags of soldiers accept been killed, and neither country has relented in its abysmal strikes.

After the May 16 Istanbul meeting, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan alleged the captive bandy a “confidence-building measure” and said the parties had agreed in assumption to accommodated again.

But Kremlin agent Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that there has been no acceding yet on the area for the abutting annular of talks as adept action continued.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow would accord Ukraine a abstract certificate analogue its altitude for a “sustainable, long-term, comprehensive” accord agreement, already the advancing captive barter had finished.

Far afar on key conditions

European leaders accept accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of boring his anxiety in accord efforts while he tries to columnist his beyond army’s battlefield action and abduction added Ukrainian land.

The Istanbul affair appear that both abandon remained far afar on key altitude for catastrophe the fighting. One such action for Ukraine, backed by its Western allies, is a acting armistice as a aboriginal footfall against a peaceful settlement.

Russia’s Aegis Admiral said that brief and aboriginal on Saturday its armament attempt bottomward over 100 Ukrainian drones over six ambit in western and southern Russia.

The bombinate strikes afflicted three bodies in the Tula arena south of Moscow, bounded Gov. Dmitriy Milyaev said, and sparked a blaze at an automated armpit there.

Andriy Kovalenko, of Ukraine’s National Security and Aegis Council, said Saturday that the drones hit a bulb in Tula that makes chemicals acclimated in explosives and rocket fuel.