Russia and Ukraine begin new prisoner swap as drone war and front-line battle continue apace
The news of another prisoner swap, agreed to by the warring neighbors in direct talks that have failed to yield any significant progress toward a broader easing of the war sparked by Russia's ongoing full-scale invasion in 2022, came after Moscow launched a drone attack on a Ukrainian air base in the country's far west.
"Today, an exchange began, which will continue in several stages over the coming days," Zelenskyy said on social media. "Among those we are bringing back now are the wounded, the severely wounded, and those under the age of 25," he added.
Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) are seen after being released by Russia in a swap, amid Russia's ongoing war on Ukraine, at an unknown location in Ukraine, in a handout picture released June 9, 2025, by the Ukrainian presidency.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout/REUTERS
Russia's Defense Ministry said earlier Monday that it had returned a group of prisoners — all aged under 25 — from Ukraine in the first stage of a new major exchange of captives agreed between Moscow and Kyiv during their second round of talks in Istanbul.
The exchange of prisoners has been a solitary positive development from those direct talks, in which the two sides remain otherwise entrenched in their respective demands over conditions to halt the fighting. On the roughly 600-mile front line in the ground war, stretching from eastern Ukraine's northern to southern borders, the fighting has only intensified in recent weeks.
Moscow claimed Monday to have gained even more ground in eastern Ukraine, and it did so after launching a massive round of attack drones in retaliation for Kyiv's blistering sneak drone attack on Russian military aircraft last week.
President Trump said last week that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had told him during a phone call that Russia would retaliate for the Ukrainian drone attack, which Kyiv claims destroyed 41 Russian bombers as they sat parked at four airbases.
Russia launches major drone strike against Ukraine as fighting continues
Moscow fired a record 479 drones at Ukraine, including on the western region of Rivne that has been largely spared from attacks, Kyiv said Monday, while claiming an attack on a Russian factory hundreds of miles east of Moscow.
Russia has escalated its attacks across Ukraine in recent weeks, which Kyiv says demonstrate that the Kremlin has no intention of stopping its more than three-year invasion and is not serious about peace talks.
Moscow said Monday its strikes are continued retaliation for a bold Ukrainian attack on its bomber planes parked deep inside Russia, including in Siberia, that infuriated the Kremlin.
The overnight Russian attacks caused damage in several Ukrainian regions. There were no reports of people killed or mass casualties.
"Enemy air strikes were recorded in 10 spots," the Ukrainian air force said.
A resident stands at the site of a Russian air strike, amid Russia's ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, June 9, 2025.
Stringer/REUTERS
The mayor of the western city of Rivne, Oleksandr Tretyak, called it "the largest attack" on the region since the start of the war.
Regional governor Oleksandr Koval said 70 buildings — including private houses and a nursery — were damaged in the attack.
Russia said it had targeted an airfield near the village of Dubno in the Rivne region.
"This is one of the retaliatory strikes against terrorist attacks by the Kyiv regime on Russian military airfields," its defense ministry said.
Ukraine's Air Force Command spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said in a post on social media that the country's U.S.-made Patriot air defense system had shot down all four Kinzhal hypersonic missiles launched by a warplane over Rivne Oblast, but it was unclear whether any drones or other Russian weapons might have hit the airfield in the area. There were no reports by Ukrainian media of significant damages to the facility.
Ukraine also said it had launched its own overnight strike on an electronics factory that makes part for Russian drones, in the city of Cheboskary in Chuvashia — some 372 miles east of Moscow.
Russian officials said the facility had to temporarily suspend production after the attack.
"This morning, Ukrainian attempts to use drones in Chuvashia were detected," Chuvashia Governor Oleg Nikolayev said on Telegram, adding: "Two drones fell on the territory of the VNIIR factory."
Ukraine's army said the factory manufactured "antennas for Shahed" (drones). Russia fires dozens of Iranian-designed Shahed attack drones at Ukrainian cities on a daily basis.
Russia said a Ukrainian strike killed one person in its border Kursk region Monday. The acting governor of the region, Alexander Khinstein, said the strike hit a "cultural-service centre" in the Rylsky district, killing a 64-year-old man.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
31 minutes ago
- New York Times
Zelensky Faces Criticism Over Effort to Rein In Corruption Agencies
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine was facing growing domestic pressure on Wednesday over a measure to curb the independence of anticorruption agencies, even as he defended it as necessary to root out 'Russian influence' in the agencies. Mr. Zelensky signed into law on Tuesday a bill limiting the independence of two investigative agencies that have been leading efforts to root out corruption. The move has been met with street protests and a rebuke from allies, and it has apparently caused divisions within his government. The director of Ukraine's military intelligence agency, Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, one of the most senior security officials in Ukraine's wartime leadership, posted a rare statement on domestic policy that appeared to criticize the move. The statement, posted on Facebook on Tuesday, did not directly condemn the law, but General Budanov called for Ukraine to maintain strong 'institutions,' particularly during the war. 'I am certain that strong armed forces and institutions will save Ukraine,' he wrote. He also called for unity. In his first public comments on the law, Mr. Zelensky posted a video statement after 1 a.m. on Wednesday calling the measure necessary for removing 'Russian influence' from the anticorruption groups. The domestic intelligence agency had on Monday searched homes of investigators, accusing some of having ties to Russia. 'The anticorruption infrastructure will continue to work, only without Russian influence,' Mr. Zelensky said. 'That must be cleansed.' Critics say no plausible evidence has been made public of anticorruption investigators' having ties to Russia. Several thousand protesters gathered late on Tuesday in Kyiv and other cities, despite risks of missile attacks, to protest the new law, the first significant street action against Mr. Zelensky in the three and half years since Russia's all-out invasion. Dmytro Koziatynsky, a war veteran who organized the protests, called on Ukrainians to come out again on Wednesday evening. Mr. Zelensky's critics say the president has overstepped his authority under the martial law imposed since the Russian invasion by investigating or imposing financial restrictions on media organizations, nongovernmental groups and opposition politicians. The weakening of the anticorruption agencies is the latest in a string of steps he has taken to consolidate his power, they say. The agencies had been investigating senior members of his government, including a deputy prime minister, Oleksiy Chernyshov, who was charged with corruption on June 23 after being accused of taking kickbacks in a real estate deal. The Ukrainian Parliament, in which Mr. Zelensky's party has a majority, had passed the law on the same day that he signed it. The two agencies it affects are the National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine and a specialized prosecutorial office that pursued its cases. The law gives Ukraine's prosecutor general, who is appointed by the president, new power over the agencies. The two bodies were created after pro-Western street protests in 2014 and have been strongly backed by countries providing financial aid to Ukraine. Ukraine's main Western military backers and financial supporters in the Group of 7 issued a statement expressing concerns about the law. 'We all have a shared commitment to support transparency, independent institutions, and good governance, and we value our partnerships in Ukraine to combat corruption together,' the statement on X said. In comments that appeared to be at odds with General Budanov's statement, Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the domestic intelligence agency, voiced his support for the new law in comments to Ukrainian journalists on Tuesday. Mr. Malyuk characterized the independent agencies as having been unconstitutional. 'Under the constitution, there can be only one general prosecutor in the country,' he said. Oleksandr Chubko contributed reporting from Kyiv.
Washington Post
31 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Does Trump understand what ‘the West' is? Does the West itself know?
The West urgently needs a definition of 'the West.' Without this, it cannot understand itself, or current and future challenges. If Ukraine is to be saved from dismemberment, and its nationhood not neutered, the nature and stakes of the conflict need to be understood in Huntingtonian terms. Even when political scientist Samuel Huntington (1927-2008) was mistaken, he was penetrating. In 1993, he wrote that 'the likelihood of violence between Ukrainians and Russians should be low. They are two Slavic, primarily Orthodox peoples who have had close relationships with each other for centuries.' Huntington did not foresee the West's magnetic attraction, pulling Ukraine away from the civilization Vladimir Putin intends to enforce.
News24
31 minutes ago
- News24
‘Serious step back' as Ukraine approves law to target two anti-corruption agencies
Zelensky/Official Telegram Account/Anadolu via Getty Images Ukraine's parliament voted to restrict two anti-corruption agencies. Hundreds of Ukrainians protested near the presidential administration. EU commissioner Marta Kos criticised the vote as a step back. Ukraine has toughened restrictions on two anti-corruption agencies at the centre of the government's reform drive, rolling back their autonomy in favour of tighter executive control. Stamping out endemic graft is a requirement for Kyiv to join the European Union as well as to secure billions in Western aid. Independent investigators have in recent months embarrassed senior officials with allegations of corruption. Amendments passed on Tuesday grant the general prosecutor, appointed by the president, strict control over the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, several lawmakers said. The vote drew sharp criticism from the heads of both agencies and a top EU official, and spurred the largest public protests since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. READ | Zelensky says he and Trump are considering a drone 'mega-deal' The vote came a day after Kyiv's domestic security agency arrested two NABU officials on suspicion of ties to Russia and conducted sweeping searches into agency employees on other grounds. Critics and the two agencies said the crackdown went too far. President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose party holds a majority in parliament, approved the amendments late on Tuesday. The changes would allow the general prosecutor to transfer cases from the agencies and reassign prosecutors. In his nightly video address, issued well after midnight, Zelensky said he had spoken to NABU chief Semen Kryvonos and other top prosecutors. Anti-corruption bodies, he said, would continue to function 'but without any Russian influence. It all must be cleansed. 'There must be more justice. Of course, NABU and SAPO will continue their work,' he said. 'It's also important that the prosecutor general be committed to ensuring real accountability for those who break the law. This is what Ukraine truly needs.' Patryk Jaracz/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Kryvonos had urged Zelensky not to sign the fast-tracked bill, which he called an attempt to 'destroy' Ukraine's anti-corruption infrastructure. After Tuesday's vote, Ukraine's government bonds fell more than 2% on international markets, with the bulk of the $20 billion of debt restructured in 2024 down over 1 cent at between 45 and 50 cents on the dollar. Hundreds of Ukrainians protested near the presidential administration in central Kyiv late on Tuesday, with smaller actions taking place in several other cities. One senior official linked to the military, the head of the HUR military intelligence service, Kyrylo Budanov, called for efforts to eliminate wartime differences in Ukrainian society. 'We have one common misfortune, one enemy,' Budanov wrote on Telegram, without specifically referring to the legislation. 'It is therefore worth resolving internal contradictions through open dialogue to achieve a single common goal - to defend our country.' Writing on X, EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos said she was 'seriously concerned' by Tuesday's vote. The dismantling of key safeguards protecting NABU's independence is a serious step back. Marta Kos She added that rule of law was at 'the very centre' of EU accession talks. NABU and SAPO were established after the 2014 Maidan revolution that toppled a pro-Russian president and set Kyiv on a Western course. The two agencies have stepped up their work during the war, levelling charges against lawmakers, ministers and a former deputy head of Zelensky's administration. Anti-graft campaigners have been alarmed since authorities charged a top anti-corruption activist this month with fraud and evading military service. Critics have cast those charges as political retribution for exposing corrupt officials. George Ivanchenko/Anadolu via Getty Images The government has also faced criticism for rejecting the candidacy of an economic security chief and current NABU detective who was unanimously backed by an internationally supervised committee. A Western diplomat familiar with Ukraine's reform effort described the developments as 'the most dangerous moment' yet for the independence of anti-corruption authorities. 'The Ukrainian side is testing the limits more and more,' the person said, referring to the patience of Kyiv's allies. Influential Ukrainians denounced the vote on social media as a betrayal of Ukraine's decade-long geopolitical ambition. Fighting corruption is seen as critical to erasing a legacy of Russian rule, a sentiment echoed at the protest in Kyiv. Vladyslava Kirstyuk, 18, said memories of her childhood in occupied eastern Ukraine, after Russia's covert invasion in 2014, left a strong impression. 'I know what it means for one person to have all the power, when nothing is transparent and everything is working against you,' she said. 'I don't want it to be the same for us here.'
