Russia and Ukraine on Monday swapped a first group of captured soldiers — part of an agreement reached during peace talks that appeared to be in doubt over the weekend.
The deal to exchange prisoners of war and repatriate the bodies of killed fighters was the only concrete agreement reached at the talks, which have failed to lead to a breakthrough towards ending the three-year war.
Progress has stalled. Russia has issued tough conditions for halting its invasion and has repeatedly rejected calls for an unconditional ceasefire.
“Today, an exchange began, which will continue in several stages over the coming days,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media.
He posted images of soldiers draped in Ukrainian flags, cheering and hugging.
“Among those we are bringing back now are the wounded, the severely wounded, and those under the age of 25,” he added.
Russia’s defence ministry also confirmed the swap was part of “agreements reached on 2 June in Istanbul”.
Neither side said how many prisoners were released.
After the talks in Istanbul, both said it would involve more than 1,000 captured soldiers, making it the largest exchange of the three-year war.
The swap itself had appeared in jeopardy over the weekend, when Moscow and Kyiv traded accusations of delaying and thwarting the planned exchange.
File Image: Putin and Zelensky
Zelensky accused Russia on Sunday of playing a “dirty, political game” and of not sticking to the agreed parameters — to free all captured soldiers that are sick, wounded, or under the age of 25.
Russia said Kyiv was refusing to take back bodies of dead soldiers, 1,200 of which it said were waiting in refrigerated trucks near the border.
Talks ‘Pointless’
Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine triggered the biggest European conflict since World War II, forced millions to flee their homes, and decimated much of eastern and southern Ukraine.
Pressed by US President Donald Trump to end the conflict, the two sides have opened direct negotiations for the first time in over three years in search of a resolution.
But they appear as far apart as ever from an agreement.
In Istanbul on June 2, Russia demanded Ukraine withdraw its forces from areas still under its control, recognise Moscow’s annexation of five Ukrainian regions and renounce all Western military support.
Kyiv is seeking a full ceasefire and a summit between Zelensky, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Trump to try to break the impasse.
While welcoming POW exchanges, Zelensky said last week it was “pointless” to hold further talks with the current Russian delegation — who he previously dismissed as “empty heads” — since they could not agree to a ceasefire.
Meanwhile, fighting on the front lines and in the skies has intensified.
Russia said on Sunday its troops had crossed into Ukraine’s industrial Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time in its campaign — a potentially key advance given that Moscow has not put forward a territorial claim to that region. war
And Moscow launched a record 479 drones at Ukraine overnight, Kyiv’s air force said on Monday.
The Ukrainian mayor of the western city of Rivne, Oleksandr Tretyak, called it “the largest attack” on the region since the start of the war.
Russia said it had targeted an airfield near the village of Dubno in the Rivne region.
It called the attack “one of the retaliatory strikes” for a brazen drone attack by Ukraine on June 1 against Russian military jets stationed at air bases thousands of kilometres (miles) behind the front line.
Kyiv also claimed responsibility for an attack on a Russian electronics factory overnight, saying it manufactured parts for drones.
Russian officials said the site had been forced to suspend production temporarily after a Ukrainian drone attack.
Russia Fired A “Record” 479 Drones
Moscow fired a record 479 drones at Ukraine, including on the western region of Rivne that has been largely spared from attacks, Kyiv said Monday, also claiming an attack on a Russian factory hundreds of miles east of Moscow.
Russia has escalated its attacks across Ukraine in recent weeks, which Kyiv says demonstrate that the Kremlin has no intention of stopping its more than three-year invasion and is not serious about peace talks.
Moscow said Monday its strikes are continued retaliation for a bold Ukrainian attack on its bomber planes parked deep inside Russia, including in Siberia, that infuriated the Kremlin.
The overnight Russian attacks caused damage in several Ukrainian regions. There were no reports of people killed or mass casualties.
“Enemy air strikes were recorded in 10 spots,” the Ukrainian air force said.
The mayor of the western city of Rivne, Oleksandr Tretyak, called it “the largest attack” on the region since the start of the war.
Regional governor Oleksandr Koval said 70 buildings — including private houses and a nursery — were damaged in the attack.
Russia said it had targeted an airfield near the village of Dubno in the Rivne region.
“This is one of the retaliatory strikes against terrorist attacks by the Kyiv regime on Russian military airfields,” its defence ministry said.
Russia had vowed revenge last week and had already called strikes on Kyiv in retaliation for the brazen Ukrainian operation.
Ukraine also said it had launched its own overnight strike on an electronics factory that makes parts for Russian drones, in the city of Cheboksary in Chuvashia — some 600 kilometres (372 miles) east of Moscow.
Russian officials stated that the facility had to suspend production following the attack temporarily.
“This morning, Ukrainian attempts to use drones in Chuvashia were detected,” Chuvashia Governor Oleg Nikolayev said on Telegram, adding: “Two drones fell on the territory of the VNIIR factory.”
Ukraine’s army said the factory manufactured “antennas for Shahed” (drones). Russia fires dozens of Iranian-designed Shahed attack drones at Ukrainian cities on a daily basis.
Russia said a Ukrainian strike killed one person in its border Kursk region on Monday.
The acting governor of the region, Alexander Khinstein, said the strike hit a “cultural-service centre” in the Rylsky district, killing a 64-year-old man.
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