Russia launches hundreds of long-range drones and 69 missiles in one of the largest aerial attacks since the war began in 2022. Three siblings from the Zhytomyr region, west of Kyiv, among those killed.
Sunday 25 May 2025 15:45, UK
There is a stark contrast today between the joyous photos of prisoners of war finally reuniting with their loved ones and the horror of Ukrainians dealing with the aftermath of Russia’s overnight strikes.
The drones and missiles that got through Ukraine’s air defence, along with the debris from those shot down, has led to the deaths of at least 12 Ukrainians, and damage across the country.
The images below show the devastation in the Zhytomyr region, west of Kyiv.
As Kyiv reels from another 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.
Earlier we shared photos of some of the 303 Russian prisoners who had just been released by Ukraine heading home on a coach (see 12:50 post).
We’re now getting pictures of some of the 303 Ukrainian soldiers who were freed as part of the exchange.
Overall 1,000 prisoners on both sides have been let go since Friday, marking the biggest exchange between Russia and Ukraine since the war began.
The governor of Kharkiv has shared the details of two more people killed in Russia’s overnight attacks.
On Telegram, Oleh Syniehubov said two women aged 85 and 56 were killed after a house was struck in Kupyansk, a city in Kharkiv Oblast.
He added a 60-year-old man, a 75-year-old woman and a 68-year-old woman were also injured, and that medics were providing them with the necessary assistance.
A Ukrainian official has identified the three children who were killed after Russia’s aerial attack overnight.
Deputy foreign minister Mariana Betsa said the victims were siblings Stanislav, aged eight, Tamara, 12, and Roman, 17.
They were killed in the Zhytomyr region, west of Kyiv.
The siblings are among at least 12 civilians who died after Russia launched nearly 300 drones and 69 missiles at Ukraine.
Ms Betsa sent her “deepest condolences to the family of the children”
303 Russian servicemen have been released from captivity today, in exchange for the same amount of Ukrainian soldiers.
It means a total of 1,000 prisoners on each side have been let go in the past three days.
The Russian Defence Ministry has shared pictures of its latest group of released soldiers on a coach in Belarus, where the exchanges have been taking place.
As we’ve been reporting, Russia launched nearly 300 drones and 69 missiles at Ukraine overnight, and carried out similar attacks the night prior.
But the attacks did not affect a three-day prisoner exchange between the warring countries which started on Friday, seeing 1,000 prisoners of war released by both sides.
Security expert Elisabeth Braw says Russia is sending mixed signals with its brutal aerial attacks coming at the same time as the ground-breaking prisoner exchanges.
Ms Braw, senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Security Initiative, told Sky News that while the exchange was a “rare success” and went better than many would have thought, it has also raised questions over Russia’s motives.
She said that Russia’s participation in the prisoner exchange seemed to suggest it was willing to be “more cooperative”.
“Yet at the very same time the prisoner exchange takes place, Russia then proceeds to launch a really fierce attack that has claimed the lives of Ukrainian civilians,” she continues.
Ms Braw said the attacks, mixed with the exchanges, make it difficult to understand “what Russia is trying to achieve”.
The EU’s foreign affairs chief has reacted to Russia’s huge aerial attack overnight.
On X, Kaja Kallas said the attack showed Russia was “bent on more suffering and the annihilation of Ukraine”.
“Devastating to see children among innocent victims harmed and killed. My thoughts are with the families today,” she added.
Three children were among the at least 12 people killed overnight, according to Ukrainian officials.
“We need the strongest international pressure on Russia to stop this war,” Ms Kallas concluded.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been calling on European countries and the US to introduce stricter sanctions on Russia to force them to end the war.
Russian officials say its forces have taken control of another village in Ukraine.
The Russian Defence Ministry claimed they had taken control of Romanivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
It comes a day after the ministry claimed the settlements of Stupochki, Otradne and Loknia in the Donetsk and Sumy regions.
The ministry’s reports have not been independently verified.
Civilians whose homes were destroyed by Russia’s massive overnight drone and missile attack have been sharing their stories.
Several homes have been burned down in the village of Markhalivka, just outside Kyiv.
The area is shrouded in smoke, with rubble scattered everywhere.
Local resident Ivan Fedorenko, 80, was holding back tears as he told AP: “We went to bed. The air siren went off. Our dogs were asking to come into the house – we invited them home.
“And they burned to death. I want to bury them, but I’m not allowed yet.”
Fellow Markhalivka resident Liubov Fedorenko, 76, said the streets looked like Bakhmut and Mariupol, Ukrainian cities that have been battered by the war.
She said yesterday she was trying to convince her daughter in Kyiv to come and stay with her for safety.
She said her daughter lives on the eighth floor of an apartment building in the Ukrainian capital, and that she felt she would be safer at her ground floor flat in Markhalivka.
But her daughter told her: “No, mum, I’m not coming.”
“And thank God she didn’t come, because the rocket hit on the side where the children’s rooms were,” Ms Fedorenko said.
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