Russia launched 250 long-range drones and 14 ballistic missiles at Kyiv overnight, injuring at least 15 civilians, according to Ukrainian officials. Hundreds more prisoners of war have been exchanged between Russia and Ukraine as part of a 1,000 for 1,000 swap.
Saturday 24 May 2025 15:20, UK
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As Kyiv reels from a massive overnight attack, fighting remains active right across the frontline in Ukraine.
Scroll through the maps below to view different parts of the battlefield, including the situation in key regions such as Luhansk, Donetsk, Kursk and Belgorod.
The Russian Defence Ministry has been sharing footage of the prisoners of war released by Ukraine as part of an exchange today.
The soldiers boarded a bus in an unknown location in Belarus, which was taking them back to Russia.
307 Russian servicemen were returned by Kyiv today in exchange for 307 Ukrainian soldiers, after 270 servicemen and 120 civilians from either side were released yesterday.
As we’ve been reporting, Russia launched 250 long-range drones and 14 ballistic missile at Kyiv overnight.
Ukrainian forces say they shot down six of the missiles and neutralised 245 drones, and have reported 15 people injured so far.
Military analyst Michael Clarke says Russia’s goal would have been “to exhaust Ukrainian air defences” with the drones and make their forces use up their ammunition to shoot them down, before launching the ballistic missiles through the gaps created.
He suggested the attacks may not have done as much damage as the Kremlin had hoped, but it still did plenty around Kyiv, causing several fires and forcing much of the population into underground shelters.
Ukrainian officials have said homes, cars and businesses were destroyed or damaged across the capital city.
The Russian defence ministry has shared footage of its soldiers who have just been released by Ukraine.
Ukraine released 307 Russian prisoners of war in exchange for the same number of their own earlier today.
It was the second day in a row hundreds of prisoners on both sides were let out.
In the video, a Russian soldier speaks to his mum on the phone, telling her he is safe.
The past 24 hours have seen huge developments in the war between Russia and Ukraine at both ends of the scale.
People in both countries rejoiced yesterday afternoon when hundreds of prisoners on both sides were returned home as part of the biggest swap since the war began in 2022.
But the joy was short-lived in Kyiv, as Russia launched 14 ballistic missiles and 250 long-range drones at the Ukrainian capital.
Kyiv’s military said it was one of the biggest combined missile and drone attacks to date, and the debris of intercepted weapons has caused devastation across its districts.
Now, another 307 prisoners on both sides have been returned home as part of the second phase of a deal that will eventually see a total of 1,000 released by each.
A pensioner whose home was hit by debris from Russia’s downed drones overnight has voiced her frustrations with US president Donald Trump over unsuccessful negotiations to end the war.
Halyna Tatarchuk, 63, was in her apartment with her husband when it was hit.
Luckily, she says, they were in a corridor and away from the windows.
“That saved us,” she told Reuters.
They fled to a bomb shelter at a nearby school, then came back in the morning to see all of the windows of their apartment were smashed, with the floor covered in glass.
“I’d like Trump to see this,” she said, standing in her kitchen. “What’s he doing? Can he really not see this?
“It’s the destruction of a people, they are just destroying us,” she said, referring to the Russian military.
Mr Trump has been trying to orchestrate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine to no avail.
Earlier this week, he suggested “big egos” were making the negotiations challenging.
Russia and Ukraine held their first direct talks since 2022 in Turkey last week, but failed to agree to a ceasefire. Vladimir Putin did not attend the talks.
UK foreign secretary David Lammy has condemned Russia’s large-scale aerial attacks on Kyiv, saying they are “not the actions of a country seeking peace”.
In a statement on X, he said: “Russia targeted Ukraine again last night – with 14 missiles and hundreds of drones across the country.
“Another night of terror for Ukrainian civilians, with yet more injured and more homes destroyed.
“These are not the actions of a country seeking peace.”
More than 600 prisoners of war have been traded between Russia and Ukraine.
It is the second day in a row that hundreds of prisoners have been released, as part of a deal that’s set to see a total of 1,000 prisoners from each side return home.
307 Russian servicemen were returned by Kyiv today in exchange for 307 Ukrainian soldiers.
Yesterday, each returned 270 servicemen and 120 civilians.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared photos of the freed soldiers on social media, along with a statement.
“Among those who returned today are soldiers from our army, the State Border Service, and the National Guard of Ukraine,” he said.
He thanked everyone involved in the exchange and added: “Our goal is to return each and every person from Russian captivity.”
The Russian defence ministry released its own statement about the exchange, and said more would be coming.
Mother-of-two Olha Kalina wasn’t at home when her apartment was hit during Russia’s aerial assault overnight.
She was staying with her own parents elsewhere when she got a call from her children, aged 20 and 13, who were at her home in the Obolon district of Kyiv.
She told Reuters: “The kids rang me at three in the morning and said: ‘Mum, we’ve been hit. The balcony’s on fire.'”
Ms Kalina said she rushed home and found her children sheltering in a nearby underground car park, their faces blackened from smoke.
She said the apartment was no longer habitable because of fire damage.
The Obolon district, on the north-western edge of Kyiv, was one of the worst hit areas overnight, according to officials, with debris falling on residential buildings and a shopping mall.
Russian troops have captured three settlements in eastern Ukraine, according to the Russian Defence Ministry.
Russia has claimed the settlements of Stupochki, Otradne and Loknia in the Donetsk and Sumy regions, according to the ministry’s latest battlefield report.
The claims have not been independently confirmed and Ukrainian officials have not commented.
We’ll bring you more on this breaking story as we get it.
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