Russia launched a massive airstrike on cities across Ukraine overnight that reportedly killed at least a dozen people as Moscow and Kyiv were conducting the largest prison exchange of the war, now in its third year.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russians fired at least 300 drones and 70 missiles at targets throughout the country, including the capital city.
“Ordinary residential buildings were destroyed and damaged. In Kyiv, the dormitories of the university’s history faculty were damaged,” Mr. Zelenskyy posted Sunday on his Telegram social media page. “Unfortunately, there were deaths, including children. My condolences.”
Russian military officials said their forces carried out a “massive strike” at what they said were “Ukrainian defense industry enterprises” that supplied Kyiv with explosives, electronic components, and missile fuel.
“The goals of the strike were achieved. All the assigned targets were engaged,” the Russian Defense Ministry posted Sunday on Telegram.
Mr. Zelenskyy called for additional sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and criticized the West, including the United States, for going on a “weekend break” while his country struggled under a barrage of Russian missiles and drones.
“Russia is dragging out this war and continues to kill every day,” he posted. “This cannot be ignored. Silence of America [and] silence of others around the world only encourages Putin.”
On Saturday, Mr. Zelenskyy said the prisoner swap with Moscow resulted in the release of more than 300 Ukrainian soldiers who had been captured by Russian forces.
