Russia And Ukraine Conduct Major Prisoner Exchange Amid Deadly Attack On Kyiv

Russia and Ukraine carried out another large-scale prisoner exchange on Saturday, with each side repatriating 307 captives, in what marked a rare instance of cooperation amid a conflict now in its third year, AP reported.

The swap unfolded just hours after Kyiv came under heavy aerial bombardment. A wave of Russian missile and drone strikes that began Saturday night and continued into Sunday morning left at least 12 people dead, according to AP.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that 10 people were injured in the capital by early Sunday, AP reported. One of the strikes hit a student dormitory in the Holosiivskyi district, igniting a fire on the exterior of the building.

The prisoner release follows a similar exchange on Friday, when both sides returned 390 individuals, including both combatants and civilians. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that more releases were expected on Sunday, potentially making this the largest exchange since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

“We expect more to come tomorrow,” Zelenskyy stated on his official Telegram channel. Russia’s defense ministry confirmed the continuation of the exchange process, though it provided no additional details.

The latest agreements stem from face-to-face negotiations held in Istanbul earlier this month — the first direct peace talks between the two countries in over a year. Both sides agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners each as part of the effort.

Despite these signs of limited diplomatic engagement, the violence on the ground has not abated. Saturday night’s barrage forced many Kyiv residents into shelters as explosions and anti-aircraft fire echoed across the capital. Debris from intercepted drones and missiles landed in at least six city districts, according to Tymur Tkachenko, acting head of Kyiv’s military administration.

Fires broke out in the Solomianskyi district, while the Obolon district suffered the worst damage, with a residential building heavily impacted and five people wounded in the area.

The prisoner exchanges have provided a sliver of hope in an otherwise grim conflict, but the continued attacks underscore the fragile nature of any steps toward peace.

With inputs from AP.