{"id":150834,"date":"2025-05-24T15:37:02","date_gmt":"2025-05-24T15:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-russia-war-latest-kyiv-and-moscow-exchange-dozens-more-prisoners-after-huge-drone-and-missile-strike-the-independent\/"},"modified":"2025-05-24T15:37:02","modified_gmt":"2025-05-24T15:37:02","slug":"ukraine-russia-war-latest-kyiv-and-moscow-exchange-dozens-more-prisoners-after-huge-drone-and-missile-strike-the-independent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-russia-war-latest-kyiv-and-moscow-exchange-dozens-more-prisoners-after-huge-drone-and-missile-strike-the-independent\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv and Moscow exchange dozens more prisoners after huge drone and missile strike – The Independent"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Russia is accused of executing more than 150 Ukrainian prisoners of war
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Russia<\/a> and Ukraine<\/a> have each swapped 307 more prisoners of war as part of a negotiated exchange<\/a> which should result in 1,000 citizens from both sides returning to their country.
Volodymyr Zelensky<\/a> and Russia\u2019s defence ministry confirmed the second prisoner exchange on Saturday, after Friday\u2019s release saw each side exchange 390 civilians and personnel.
\u201cAmong those who returned today are soldiers from our army, the State Border Service, and the National Guard of Ukraine,\u201d Mr Zelensky said on his official Telegram channel.<\/a>
Despite the agreed exchange, at least 15 people were injured <\/a>after Russia<\/a> attacked Ukraine<\/a>‘s capital Kyiv<\/a> early today with drones and missiles, triggering fires and strewing debris in districts throughout the city, the city’s mayor said.<\/a>
It comes after it emerged <\/a>Moscow<\/a> has executed more than 150 prisoners of war after they surrendered to Russian forces, Ukraine<\/a>\u2019s military intelligence agency has said.
The United Nations also reported in March that they had documented increasing numbers of cases in which Russian forces deliberately killed soldiers, while intelligence officials have cited multiple instances of Putin\u2019s forces receiving direct orders to kill.
Russia needs to strengthen its position in the global arms market by increasing exports of weapons, country\u2019s president Vladimir Putin said.
In televised remarks, he also said the country’s military complex needs more state support to develop its potential.
“The portfolio of orders for Russian military products is now serious. It is tens of billions of dollars. And it is necessary to actively increase the volume of export deliveries,” Mr Putin said.
He also singled out weapons that utilise Artificial Intelligence (AI).
“The future of the global arms market lies with such technology. Strong competition will unfold here, and is already unfolding, for which we must be prepared,” Mr Putin said.
Officials have responded to the latest attack on Ukraine with horror, with Kyiv\u2019s foreign minister calling for further sanctions.
Posting on X, Andrii Sybiha called it “clear evidence that increased sanctions pressure on Moscow is necessary to accelerate the peace process.”
Meanwhile, the EU’s ambassador to Kyiv described it as “horrific.”
“If anyone still doubts Russia wants war to continue \u2014 read the news,” Katarina Mathernov\u00ef wrote on the social network.
The debris of intercepted missiles and drones fell in at least six Kyiv city districts. According to the acting head of the city’s military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, six people required medical care after the attack and two fires were sparked in Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district.
Germany may consider reintroducing military conscription from as soon as next year if it does not attract enough volunteers for its armed forces, defence minister Boris Pistorius told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung on Saturday.
Part of the NATO alliance, Germany is looking to enhance its military strength following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but looks likely to fail to attract enough recruits. An additional 100,000 soldiers are needed in the coming years to meet NATO obligations, its armed forces have said.
Its Conservatives, which lead a coalition in which Pistorius’ Social Democrats (SPD) are junior partners, have revved up military spending and signalled openness to a compulsory service in the armed forces, which was abandoned in 2011.
“Our model is initially based on voluntary participation,” Pistorius said in an interview with the Sunday newspaper, which is already for sale on Saturdays.
“If the time comes when we have more capacity available than voluntary registrations, then we may decide to make it mandatory,” he added.
UK foreign secretary David Lammy has condemned Russia’s large-scale drone and missile 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 \u2013 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.”
Yulia Navalnaya<\/a> has said Donald Trump\u2019s negotiations with Russia<\/a> on Ukraine are making Vladimir Putin \u201cfeel stronger\u201d.
The Russian activist<\/a> and widow of the late Russian dissident Alexei Navalny<\/a> said Trump speaking to the Russian president \u201clike they\u2019re equal\u201d is making him more powerful.
She made the remarks while speaking at a sold-out event with Alastair Campbell at <\/a>Wales\u2019 Hay Festival <\/a>on Friday, which The Independent<\/em> is once again partnering<\/a> with.
\u201cPutin is crime person he is a kind of mafia boss. He kills people. He started the war,\u201d Ms Navalnaya said when asked how she felt about Trump\u2019s involvement in Ukraine peace talks.
Read the full article here: <\/em>
Yurii Bondarchuk, a local resident in Kyiv, said the air raid siren “started as usual, then the drones started to fly around as they constantly do.”
Moments later, he heard a boom and saw shattered glass fly through the air.
“The balcony is totally wiped out, as well as the windows and the doors,” he said, describing the damage to his apartment as he stood in the dark of the night, smoking a cigarette to calm his nerves while firefighters worked to extinguish the flames.
The air raid alert in Kyiv lasted more than seven hours, warning of incoming missiles and drones.
A total of more than 600 prisoners of war have been traded between Russia and Ukraine, according to the Russian Ministry of Defence.
It follows the release of nearly 800 soldiers on Friday, with both sides releasing 390 each.
On Saturday, Russia has said that 307 Ukrainian servicemen were returned to Kyiv in exchange for 307 members of Putin\u2019s forces.
The exchanges are part of a deal that\u2019s set to see 1,000 prisoners released from each side after negotiations took place in Istanbul this month.
Despite a prisoner swap marking a rare moment of co-operation, battles have continued along the roughly 620-mile front line, where tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed.
After the meeting in May in Istanbul, Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan called the prisoner swap a “confidence-building measure” and said the parties had agreed in principle to meet again.
But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that there has been no agreement yet on the venue for the next round of talks as diplomatic manoeuvres continued.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would give Ukraine a draft document outlining its conditions for a “sustainable, long-term, comprehensive” peace agreement, once the ongoing prisoner exchange had finished.
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