Russia, Ukraine swap first prisoners in large-scale exchange
KYIV: 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 attack 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 June 2 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.
Police experts work at the site of the Russian air strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia. — Reuters
The swap itself had appeared in jeopardy over the weekend, when Moscow and Kyiv traded accusations of delaying and thwarting the planned exchange. 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.
Pressed by US President Donald Trump to end the conflict, the two sides have opened direct negotiations for the first time in more than three years in search of an agreement. 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 said it was "pointless" to hold further talks with the current Russian delegation since they could not agree to a ceasefire.
Prisoners of war (POWs) are seen after a swap, at an unknown location in Ukraine. — Reuters
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. 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. 70 buildings — including private houses and a nursery — were damaged in the attack. 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 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 temporarily suspend production after a Ukrainian drone attack.
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. 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. — AFP
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Observer
8 hours ago
- Observer
Russia, Ukraine swap first prisoners in large-scale exchange
KYIV: 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 attack 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 June 2 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. Police experts work at the site of the Russian air strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia. — Reuters The swap itself had appeared in jeopardy over the weekend, when Moscow and Kyiv traded accusations of delaying and thwarting the planned exchange. 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. Pressed by US President Donald Trump to end the conflict, the two sides have opened direct negotiations for the first time in more than three years in search of an agreement. 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 said it was "pointless" to hold further talks with the current Russian delegation since they could not agree to a ceasefire. Prisoners of war (POWs) are seen after a swap, at an unknown location in Ukraine. — Reuters 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. 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. 70 buildings — including private houses and a nursery — were damaged in the attack. 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 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 temporarily suspend production after a Ukrainian drone attack. 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. 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. — AFP
Muscat Daily
11 hours ago
- Muscat Daily
Ukraine, Russia begin complex POW Exchange
Kyiv, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a prisoner-of-war swap between Russia and Ukraine is underway. He posted pictures online of Ukrainians 'returning home from Russian captivity'. 'Today, an exchange began, which will continue in several stages over the coming days,' Zelenskyy said. Over the weekend, Russia accused Ukraine of delaying the prisoner swap that will also include an exchange of soldiers' bodies. Ukraine, however, said there was no fixed date for the swap and that Russia was not adhering to the agreements about the exchange. 'The process is quite complex, with many sensitive details, and negotiations continue virtually every day,' Zelenskyy said on Monday. Russian strike targets key airfield Ukraine's Air Force has released more details about a large overnight Russian strike, confirming that a military airfield in the west of the country was among the main targets. 'The main strike was targeting… one of the operational airfields. There are some hits,' Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat told Ukrainian TV, without elaborating on the extent of the damage. According to Ukrainian regional authorities, the airfield is located in Dubno, approximately 60km (40 miles) from Ukraine's border with Poland. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone strike deep into Russia forced a temporary suspension of production at an electronics company in the Volga River region of Chuvashia, the head of the region said. 'This morning, Ukrainian attempts to use drones in Chuvashia were detected,' regional governor Oleg Nikolayev wrote on Telegram. Moscow reported that debris from intercepted drones fell on the facility, while Ukraine stated there was a direct hit on the site. The factory is 1,300km (800 miles) from the Ukraine-Russia border and, according to Kyiv, 'specialises in manufacturing navigation equipment used in attack drones, guided aerial bombs, and high-precision weapons'. Russia slams NATO 'aggression' The Kremlin has sharply criticised NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte's proposal to significantly boost the alliance's air and missile defence capabilities, calling the move 'confrontational'. '(NATO) is not an instrument for maintaining stability and security on the continent. It is an instrument created for confrontation and has so far kept its true nature disguised. Now it is showing its real nature,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about the proposal. Peskov also warned that European citizens would bear the financial burden of the plan. 'European taxpayers will spend their money to defuse some threat that they say comes from our country, but it is nothing but an ephemeral threat,' he said. His remarks come despite repeated threats from senior Russian officials toward NATO since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, including warnings about nuclear strikes. Poland scrambles jets Poland scrambled warplanes on Monday to secure its airspace as Russia launched hundreds of drones at Ukraine. 'Due to the intensive air attack by the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine, Polish and allied aircraft began to operate in Polish airspace in the morning,' Warsaw's Operational Command said in a statement on Facebook. Poland is one of Ukraine's closest allies and a member of NATO. It has reported breaches of its airspace during previous Russian attacks. In March 2024, Poland reported that a Russian cruise missile had violated its airspace and demanded an explanation from Moscow. A similar incident occurred in December 2023. DW
Observer
a day ago
- Observer
Russia pushes offensive into Ukraine's eastern industrial region
MOSCOW: Russia said on Sunday it was pushing into Ukraine's eastern industrial Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time in its three-year offensive — a significant territorial escalation amid stalled peace talks. Moscow, which has the initiative on the battlefield, has repeatedly refused calls by Ukraine, Europe and US President Donald Trump for a full and unconditional ceasefire. At June 2 talks in Istanbul it demanded Kyiv pull troops back from the frontline, agree to end all Western arms support and give up on its ambitions to join the Nato military alliance. Dnipropetrovsk is not among the five Ukrainian regions over which Russia has asserted a formal territorial claim. It is an important mining and industrial hub for Ukraine and deeper Russian advances into the region could have a serious knock-on effect for Kyiv's struggling military and economy. Dnipropetrovosk had an estimated population of three million before Russia launched its offensive. Around one million people lived in the regional capital, Dnipro. Russia's defence ministry said forces from a tank unit had "reached the western border of the Donetsk People's Republic and are continuing to develop an offensive in the Dnipropetrovsk region". The advance of Russian forces into yet another region of Ukraine is both a symbolic and strategic blow to Kyiv's forces after months of setbacks on the battlefield. There was no immediate response from Ukraine to Russia's statement. Moscow in 2022 claimed annexation of the frontline Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia regions, which it did not have full control over. Already in 2014, it seized the Crimean peninsula following a pro-EU revolution in Kyiv. In a set of peace demands issued to Ukraine at the latest talks, Moscow demanded formal recognition that these regions were part of Russia — something Kyiv has repeatedly ruled out. Tens of thousands have been killed in the three-year offensive, millions forced to flee their homes and cities and villages across eastern Ukraine devastated by relentless air attacks and ground combat. In more than a decade of conflict with Kremlin-backed separatists and the Russian army, Ukraine has never had to fight on the territory of the Dnipropetrovsk region until now. Russia's ex-president Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of the national security council, said the fresh advance was a warning to Kyiv that it should give in to Russia's demands at peace talks. "Those who do not want to recognise the realities of the war at negotiations, will receive new realities on the ground. Our armed forces have started an offensive in the Dnipropetrovsk region," he said on social media. Russia's army posted photos showing troops raising the Russian flag over the village of Zorya in Ukraine's Donetsk region, close to the internal border. Ukrainian military personnel previously said that Russia could advance relatively quickly in the largely flat region, given there were fewer natural obstacles or villages that could be used as defensive positions by Kyiv's forces. The region — and in particular the city of Dnipro — have been under persistent Russian strikes for the last three years. Russia used Dnipro as a testing ground for its "experimental" Oreshnik missile in late 2024, claiming to have struck an aeronautics production facility. Earlier on Sunday local Ukrainian officials said one person was killed in the region in an attack on a village close to the frontline. Moscow also continued to accuse Ukraine of refusing to agree to take back the bodies of killed soldiers, after the two countries traded accusations a day earlier for thwarting a prisoner exchange agreed at talks in Istanbul. Russia's defence ministry said trains carrying corpses were headed to the border point, where more than 1,200 had arrived on Saturday in refrigerated trucks. Ukraine said on Saturday that the two sides had never agreed a date or time for some 6,000 bodies in total to be handed back. — AFP
