Moscow and Kyiv exchanged hundreds of prisoners Sunday, hours after the Kremlin launched a massive drone and missile assault the night before on Ukraine that killed at least 12 people and wounded dozens more.
Russia and Ukraine exchanged 303 prisoners Sunday after the release of 307 a day earlier and 390 on Friday. It was the largest prisoner 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,” he said.
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.
Ukrainian Air Force officials said the Russian barrage was the largest aerial attack since the war began.
Mr. Zelenskyy called for additional sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and criticized the West, including the U.S., 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.”
Retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, President Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, posted an image on X of the destruction caused by the Russian drone and missile barrage. Thick clouds of smoke blanketed the sky from several raging fires in Kyiv.
“The indiscriminate killing of women and children at night in their homes is a clear violation of the 1877 Geneva Peace Protocols designed to protect innocents,” Gen. Kellogg wrote. “These attacks are shameful. Stop the killing. Ceasefire now.”
The war will continue to rage until the West inflicts “really strong pressure” on the Russian leadership, Mr. Zelenskyy said.
“Sanctions will definitely help, [but] determination is what matters now — the determination of the United States, the determination of European countries (and) of all those in the world who want peace,” he said.
Kaja Kallas, vice-president of the European Commission, said the attack again illustrates the point that Russia is only interested in causing suffering in Ukraine — and ultimately its annihilation.
“Devastating to see children among innocent victims harmed and killed. My thoughts are with the families today,” Ms. Kallas said Sunday on X. “We need the strongest international pressure on Russia to stop this war.”
Rep. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican, said the peace efforts pushed by the White House aren’t moving Mr. Putin closer to a negotiated deal.
“His goal is to dominate Ukraine, and he won’t stop until he realizes he cannot win,” Mr. Bacon said on X. “The U.S. and Allies must arm Ukraine to the teeth, sanction Russia to the max, and confiscate the $300 billion in overseas Russian assets.”
The weekend’s prisoner swap was the only concrete outcome of the talks between Russia and Ukraine that were held in Istanbul earlier in the month. It was the first time representatives from Kyiv and Moscow met face-to-face for peace talks.
The negotiations have had little effect on the fighting throughout Ukraine. Battles have been steady along the 600-mile front line, killing tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides.
Nataliya Borovyk said she and her family had hoped her brother, captured Ukrainian soldier Ihor Ulesov, would have been released in Friday’s initial prisoner swap. But that wasn’t the case. She was overwhelmed when she learned that he was part of Saturday’s exchange.
“My uncle had to calm me down and put me in a taxi so I could get here. A moment like that stays with you forever,” she told The Associated Press. “He wasn’t there on Friday, but I was here. I at least greeted them. I stood there until the very end and waited, [hoping] maybe he would appear after all.”
Moldova shares a border with southern Ukraine. Moldovan President Maia Sandu said Russia’s attack was not the behavior of a country that is interested in seeking peace.
“It’s a deliberate escalation and brutal attack on innocent lives,” Ms. Sandu said Sunday on X. “Moldova stands with Ukraine. The world must respond with massive support for Ukraine.”
