At Least Seven Dead in Major Drone and Missile Assault on Ukraine by Russia, Officials Report

KYIV – For a second consecutive night, Ukraine was struck by a large-scale assault of Russian missiles and drones, resulting in the deaths of at least seven individuals and wounding multiple others, officials reported early Sunday.

This offensive coincided with the third day of a scheduled prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine, which emerged as the sole positive outcome from peace discussions in Istanbul earlier this month, though a ceasefire remains elusive. This swap stands out as a rare instance of collaboration between the belligerent nations.

Kyiv’s Mayor, Vitali Klitschko, reported that by 3 a.m. on Sunday, “there are already 10 injured in the capital.” Later, Ukraine’s emergency service confirmed that four fatalities and 16 injuries, including 3 children, occurred in the Kyiv area.

Klitschko said a student dormitory in Holosiivskyi district was hit by a drone and one of the building’s walls was on fire. In Dniprovskyi district, a private house was destroyed and in Shevchenkivskyi district, windows in a residential building were smashed.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia’s defense ministry said each side brought home 307 more soldiers on Saturday, a day after each released a total of 390 combatants and civilians. Further releases expected over the weekend are set to make the swap the largest in more than three years of war.

“We expect more to come tomorrow,” Zelenskyy said on his official Telegram channel. Russia’s defense ministry also said it expected the exchange to be continued, though it did not give details.

Hours earlier, explosions and anti-aircraft fire were heard throughout Kyiv as many sought shelter in subway stations as Russian drones and missiles targeted the Ukrainian capital overnight.

In talks held in Istanbul earlier this month — the first time the two sides met face to face for peace talks since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion — Kyiv and Moscow agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war and civilian detainees each.