
Prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine under way
KYIV — A prisoner exchange is under way between Russia and Ukraine, governments in Moscow and Kyiv have confirmed.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said the exchange would unfold "in several stages" over the coming days, adding that the wounded, seriously wounded and soldiers under 25 were being returned.
Writing on Telegram, Zelensky said: "The process is quite complicated, there are many sensitive details, negotiations continue virtually every day."
Russia said a "similar number" of prisoners of war had been returned to Ukraine, though neither side provided an exact figure for how many people had been exchanged.
Russia's defense ministry said "the first group of Russian servicemen under the age of 25 were returned from the territory controlled by the Kyiv regime" following an agreement reached between the warring countries last week during talks in Turkey.
As with past exchanges, Moscow said the exchanged Russian soldiers were receiving psychological and medical assistance in Belarus.On the Ukrainian side, relatives of prisoners of war and the missing gathered in the Chernihiv region, close to the border with Belarus, to greet the released prisoners and, in many cases, seek news of others still in captivity.Last week, Moscow and Kyiv accused each other of disrupting the planned repatriation of the bodies of dead soldiers.In late May, Russia and Ukraine each handed over 390 soldiers and civilians in the biggest prisoner exchange since Russia launched the full-scale invasion in 2022.Meanwhile, war continued overnight, with Moscow launching a record 479 drones at Ukraine, including on the western region of Rivne that had been largely spared from attacks.Russia's defence ministry said it had targeted Rivne's Dubno base and described this as "one of the retaliatory strikes" in response to Ukraine's audacious drone attacks on Russian airfields on 1 June.The overnight Russian launches caused damage in several Ukrainian regions but there were no reports of casualties.Russia has recently escalated its attacks on Ukraine, with each week bringing a new record of drones fired at the country.For its part, Kyiv said it attacked another Russian airbase in the Nizhny Novgorod region, which lies 400 miles from the Ukrainian border.Ukraine said the base houses planes that launch hypersonic missiles and that it had damaged "two units of enemy aircraft".It also targeted an electronics factory that Kyiv says manufactures equipment to guide drones and aerial bombs.Video shows one of the explosions caused by an attack drone, and a large fire at the plant. Production there has been suspended. — BBC

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Saudi Gazette
6 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
Prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine under way
KYIV — A prisoner exchange is under way between Russia and Ukraine, governments in Moscow and Kyiv have confirmed. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said the exchange would unfold "in several stages" over the coming days, adding that the wounded, seriously wounded and soldiers under 25 were being returned. Writing on Telegram, Zelensky said: "The process is quite complicated, there are many sensitive details, negotiations continue virtually every day." Russia said a "similar number" of prisoners of war had been returned to Ukraine, though neither side provided an exact figure for how many people had been exchanged. Russia's defense ministry said "the first group of Russian servicemen under the age of 25 were returned from the territory controlled by the Kyiv regime" following an agreement reached between the warring countries last week during talks in Turkey. As with past exchanges, Moscow said the exchanged Russian soldiers were receiving psychological and medical assistance in the Ukrainian side, relatives of prisoners of war and the missing gathered in the Chernihiv region, close to the border with Belarus, to greet the released prisoners and, in many cases, seek news of others still in week, Moscow and Kyiv accused each other of disrupting the planned repatriation of the bodies of dead late May, Russia and Ukraine each handed over 390 soldiers and civilians in the biggest prisoner exchange since Russia launched the full-scale invasion in war continued overnight, with Moscow launching a record 479 drones at Ukraine, including on the western region of Rivne that had been largely spared from defence ministry said it had targeted Rivne's Dubno base and described this as "one of the retaliatory strikes" in response to Ukraine's audacious drone attacks on Russian airfields on 1 overnight Russian launches caused damage in several Ukrainian regions but there were no reports of has recently escalated its attacks on Ukraine, with each week bringing a new record of drones fired at the its part, Kyiv said it attacked another Russian airbase in the Nizhny Novgorod region, which lies 400 miles from the Ukrainian said the base houses planes that launch hypersonic missiles and that it had damaged "two units of enemy aircraft".It also targeted an electronics factory that Kyiv says manufactures equipment to guide drones and aerial shows one of the explosions caused by an attack drone, and a large fire at the plant. Production there has been suspended. — BBC


Saudi Gazette
8 hours ago
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Israel intercepts Gaza-bound aid ship, detaining Greta Thunberg and other activists
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Thunberg can be seen sitting near the front of the group. The FFC had earlier said the ship had come 'under assault in international waters,' in a Telegram post. 'Quadcopters are surrounding the ship, spraying it with a white paint-like substance. Communications are jammed, and disturbing sounds are being played over the radio,' the FFC said. A video posted by Israel's foreign ministry appeared to show a Navy staffer sending a radio message to the vessel saying the 'maritime zone off the coast of Gaza was closed.' In a video livestreamed from the boat, activist Yasmin Acar showed a white substance on the deck, saying it had been dropped on the vessel. Acar was later heard saying it was affecting her eyes. The FFC group also posted a video on Telegram, showing members of the crew sitting inside the boat with their hands in the air. After losing communication with the vessel, the FFC began posting pre-recorded video messages from Thunberg and others onboard. 'If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by the Israeli occupational forces, or forces that support Israel,' Thunberg said in her video. In a statement, the FFC said Israel had acted with 'total impunity' and that the vessel's cargo, which included baby formula, food and medical supplies was 'confiscated.' Israel said it would transfer the goods to Gaza through humanitarian channels. 'Israel has no legal authority to detain international volunteers aboard the Madleen,' said Huwaida Arraf, human rights attorney and Freedom Flotilla organizer. 'This seizure blatantly violates international law and defies the (International Court of Justice's) binding orders requiring unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza.' Israel had repeatedly vowed to stop the aid boat from reaching Gaza, and described the ship as a 'selfie yacht' carrying 'celebrities.' 'I have instructed the IDF to ensure that the 'Madleen' flotilla does not reach Gaza,' Israeli defense minister Israel Katz said on Sunday. After the flotilla crew members were detained, Katz said in a post on X that he had instructed the military to screen videos of the Hamas attacks on Israel from October 7, 2023 to the activists upon their arrival at Ashdod Port. Israel's foreign ministry said the group 'attempted to stage a media provocation whose sole purpose was to gain publicity.' 'There are ways to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip – they do not involve Instagram selfies,' it added. In an earlier statement on Monday, the ministry said 'unauthorized attempts to breach the blockade are dangerous, unlawful, and undermine ongoing humanitarian efforts.' Hamas demanded the immediate release of the activists and condemned their detention in a statement, calling the interception 'a flagrant violation of international law, and an attack on civilian volunteers acting out of humanitarian motives.' As the 'Madleen' was taken to Ashdod, some 15 activists protested the ship's seizure in the city. The demonstrators carried signs reading, 'resist genocide,' 'release the Madleen activists now' and 'stop state terror.' While small, the protest and the messaging it carried are a rare sighting in Israel since the war began in 2023. 'We... have come to express our support and solidarity with the Madleen as part of the Freedom Flotilla, whose activists were abducted by Israel,' one activist is heard saying in English. The demonstrators were interrupted by a passerby who shouted in Hebrew, 'You're living in Israel,' calling the protesters 'bullies' and 'hooligans.' The 'Madleen' is part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, an organization that has campaigned against Israel's blockade of Gaza and tried to break the siege by boat. The crew, which had publicized the location of the ship with an online tracker, began preparing for the possibility of interception by the Israeli military. On Monday morning, the UK-flagged civilian vessel was north of Egypt in the Mediterranean Sea, slowly approaching the coast of Gaza, but the tracker has since appeared to have stopped. 'We know that it's a very risky mission and we know that previous experiences with flotillas like this have resulted in attacks, violence and even cases of death,' Thunberg told CNN on Saturday. Israel imposed a full humanitarian blockade of Gaza on March 2, cutting off food, medical supplies, and other aid to the more than 2 million Palestinians who live in the territory for 11 weeks. Faced with growing international pressure, Israel began allowing a trickle of aid in late May. But humanitarian organizations say it is only a fraction of the aid that entered the enclave before the war, and have warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis and the growing risk of widespread famine. A UN-backed report warned in late April that one in five people were facing starvation. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed over the past week while on their way to try and obtain aid from a new US-backed group commissioned to deliver aid to Gaza, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The group is intended to replace the UN-led system of distributing aid in Gaza. The United Nations has warned that the new distribution mechanism has become a 'death trap' for desperate people seeking food in the strip. Last month, another vessel from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition came under what its organizers claimed was an Israeli drone attack off the coast of Malta in international waters. The group did not provide evidence that the drone was Israeli, while the Israeli military has declined to comment on the alleged attack. The ship, the 'Conscience,' was heading to Malta, where a large contingent of activists, including Thunberg, were due to board before it departed for Gaza. The later voyage on the 'Madleen,' which was intercepted by Israel, departed from Sicily last Friday. — CNN


Saudi Gazette
19 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
Activists say Israeli troops have boarded aid ship
JERUSALEM — Activists say Israeli troops have boarded a yacht trying to bring humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. "Connection has been lost" on the Madleen, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) campaign group said on the Telegram app. It posted a photo showing people in life jackets sitting with their hands up. The report could not be independently verified. Climate activist Greta Thunberg is among those aboard the vessel, which is believed to be off the Egyptian coast. Israel's foreign ministry said earlier that the country's navy had told the yacht to change course "due to its approach toward a restricted area". Israel says a blockade is necessary to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas militants in Gaza. The FFC said the vessel, which left Sicily on Friday, was carrying humanitarian aid and had been "prepared for the possibility of an Israeli attack".Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz had warned that the yacht should turn back and that Israel would act against any attempt to breach the wrote in a post on X on Sunday: "I have instructed the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] to act to prevent the 'Madeleine' [sic] hate flotilla from reaching the shores of Gaza - and to take whatever measures are necessary to that end."Katz says the purpose of Israel's blockade, which has been in place since 2007, is to "prevent the transfer of weapons to Hamas" and is essential to Israel's security as it seeks to destroy FFC has argued that the sea blockade is illegal, characterizing Katz's statement as an example of Israel threatening the unlawful use of force against civilians and "attempting to justify that violence with smears"."We will not be intimidated. The world is watching," FFC press officer Hay Sha Wiya said."The Madleen is a civilian vessel, unarmed and sailing in international waters, carrying humanitarian aid and human rights defenders from across the globe... Israel has no right to obstruct our effort to reach Gaza."The Madleen was carrying a symbolic quantity of aid, including rice and baby formula, the group of Brazil, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Turkey are on 2010, Israeli commandos killed 10 people when they boarded the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara that was leading an aid flotilla towards recently began to allow limited aid into Gaza after a three-month land blockade, prioritising distribution through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is backed by Israel and the US but widely condemned by humanitarian UN's human rights chief, Volker Türk, said last week Palestinians were being presented with the "grimmest of choices: die from starvation or risk being killed while trying to access the meagre food that is being made available".It is almost 20 months since Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the unprecedented Hamas-led cross-border attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken least 54,880 people have been killed in Gaza since, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. — BBC