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Zelenskiy says Ukraine, Russia to exchange lists this week for POW swap

Zelenskiy says Ukraine, Russia to exchange lists this week for POW swap

Reuters2 days ago

KYIV, June 2 (Reuters) - Ukraine and Russia agreed at talks in Istanbul on Monday next week to give each other lists of people they want included in a planned prisoner of war swap, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
Zelenskiy told an online news briefing that negotiators for Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners each, with the possibility of swapping an additional 200 POWs.
He said there was also agreement to return the remains of killed service personnel, but this would take careful preparation.
Zelenskiy also said Ukrainian negotiators gave their Russian counterparts a list of nearly 400 children it wanted Russia to return home to Ukraine, but that the Russian delegation agreed to work on returning only 10 of them.
Further, the Ukrainian leader referred to a Ukrainian intelligence operation on Sunday, codenamed "Spider's Web", in which drones smuggled inside wooden sheds attacked Russian military airfields.
He said the operation had helped to restore partners' confidence that Ukraine is able to continue waging its war against Russia's invasion.

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Clearest vid yet of daring Op Spiderweb shows 35 Ukrainian bomb drones blowing up plane after multimillion dollar plane
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  • The Sun

Clearest vid yet of daring Op Spiderweb shows 35 Ukrainian bomb drones blowing up plane after multimillion dollar plane

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Another, shows a row of planes burning in a line along the side of the runway. Several drones are able to fly so close to the planes without any Russian defences that they can land on them. Red and orange flames erupt into black smoke on the runways as the next craft in the swarm looks for its target. Ukraine's spy agency which conducted the attack - the SBU - employed 117 drones in the daring operation to target Tu-95MS and Tu-22M strategic bombers, and A-50 spy planes. Moment Ukraine's 'Spiderweb' trucks rumble into position before drone blitz The fresh drone strike footage comes after other footage emerged on Wednesday showing the trucks carrying the craft beginning the operation. Clueless lorry drivers then parked the containers next to Russian airbases - where they sat and waited in plain sight. Nondescript shipping containers parked in laybys and verges had attracted little attention - before their lids blew open and the drone swarms poured out. Russian civilians stood in awe as they saw the drones zoom out of the containers and head in the direction of the bases. 16 16 16 The targeted air bases were: Olenya in the Arctic Murmansk region, Belaya in the Irkutsk region of Siberia, Dyagilevo in Ryazan region, and Ivanovo-Severny in Ivanovo region. Footage caught one truck self destruct as Russian civilians climbed into it. Each of the 117 drones had its own dedicated pilot and Russia had little defences to protect its bases and stop them. The covert drone plot - 18 months in the planning - targeted four airfields deep inside Russia, and is reminiscent of the most daring raids of WW2 that turned the tide against the Nazis. Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky oversaw the operation and said: "It's genuinely satisfying when something I authorized a year and six months ago comes to fruition and deprives Russians of over forty units of strategic aviation. 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Putin's chilling plot to march 10,000 troops into ANOTHER European nation revealed by its PM… & it could spiral into WW3
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  • The Sun

Putin's chilling plot to march 10,000 troops into ANOTHER European nation revealed by its PM… & it could spiral into WW3

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