Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv accuses Moscow of executing more than 150 prisoners of war

Key Points

• Russia ‘executed Ukrainian prisoners more than 150 times’
• Further 600 prisoners of war swapped between Ukraine and Russia
• 14 people injured in largest drone and missile attack on Kyiv
• Former Ukrainian commander says Ukraine cannot regain all lost territory

David Lammy condemns overnight Russian aerial strikes

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 – 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."

Who is Andriy Portnov? Former Ukrainian politician killed on school run in Spain

Trump’s involvement in Ukraine peace talks ‘giving Putin more power’, Yulia Navalnaya says

The Russian activist and widow of the late Russian dissident Alexei Navalny said Trump speaking to the Russian president “like they’re equal” is making him more powerful.

She made the remarks while speaking at a sold-out event with Alastair Campbell at Wales’ Hay Festival on Friday, which The Independent is once again partnering with.

“Putin is crime person he is a kind of mafia boss. He kills people. He started the war,” Ms Navalnaya said when asked how she felt about Trump’s involvement in Ukraine peace talks.

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'The drones started to fly around as they constantly do,' says Kyiv resident

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.

Further 600 prisoners of war swapped between Ukraine and Russia

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’s forces.

The exchanges are part of a deal that’s set to see 1,000 prisoners released from each side after negotiations took place in Istanbul this month.

Prisoner swap has not seen change in battleground tactics

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.

Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) react following a prisoner swap at an undisclosed location (EPA)

Watch: Zelensky shares footage of largest Moscow drone and missile attack on Kyiv

Russia says its forces capture three more settlements in east Ukraine

Russian troops have captured the settlements of Stupochki, Otradne and Loknia in Ukraine's Donetsk and Sumy regions, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Saturday.

The battlefield report has not been independently confirmed.

Russia ‘executed Ukrainian prisoners more than 150 times’

Kyiv’s military intelligence agency have said that Russian forces have executed Ukrainian prisoners more than 150 times.

Intelligence officials said they had received reports of multiple instances where a “direct orders to kill” prisoners of war had been received by Putin’s troops.

According to the agency, these acts are “not isolated incidents” but part of a deliberate and systematic policy of the Russian leadership.

In March, the United Nations also reported a growing number of cases in which Russian forces deliberately killed or maimed Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered or attempted to surrender.

Kyiv military say overnight attack was a 'difficult night for all of us'

Russia attacked Ukraine with 14 ballistic missiles and 250 Shahed drones overnight, officials said, adding that Ukrainian forces shot down 6 missiles and neutralized 245 drones — 128 drones were shot down and 117 were thwarted using electronic warfare.

The Kyiv City Military Administration said it was one of the most massive combined missile and drone attacks on the capital.

"A difficult night for all of us," the administration said in a statement.

The debris of intercepted missiles and drones fell in at least six city districts of the Ukrainian capital.

According to the acting head of Kyiv's military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, six people required medical care after the attack and two fires were sparked in the Solomianskyi district of Kyiv.

The Obolon district, where a residential building was heavily damaged in the attack, was the hardest hit. There were at least five wounded in the area, the administration said.

Ukraine and Russia swap 800 prisoners in biggest exchange of war yet

It marks the first phase of an exchange that marked a moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire in the three-year-old war.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the first phase brought home 390 Ukrainians, including soldiers and civilians, with further releases expected over the weekend that will make it the largest swap of the war.

Russia's Defense Ministry said it received the same number from Ukraine.

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Ukraine and Russia agree to comply to peace talks despite continued bombardment

Both Ukraine and Russia said they will comply with a request from U.S. President Donald Trump to hold fresh talks about a peace deal. The two sides carried out a major prisoner exchange on Friday, which Trump suggested could be the first step towards more positive developments.

However, Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of not being serious about seeking an end to the fighting, with Russia launching a “massive” drone attack overnight on the Ukrainian capital.

Zelensky calls for additional sanctions after overnight attack

A huge attack overnight on Ukraine by Russian drones and ballistic missiles was a fresh demonstration that Moscow is blocking a ceasefire deal to end the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday.

"It was a tough night for all of Ukraine," Zelenskiy wrote on social media platform Telegram.

"With each such attack, the world becomes convinced that the reason for the war being dragged out is Moscow," he wrote. "Only additional sanctions against key sectors of the Russian economy will force Moscow to agree to a ceasefire."

Buildings damaged and residents left in 'distress' after latest drone attack

In the early hours of the morning, Reuters witnesses saw and heard successive waves of drones flying over Kyiv, and a series of explosions jolted the city. The capital also reverberated with the sound of anti-aircraft batteries trying to bring down the drones.

Pictures posted online showed smoke billowing from the top of one block of flats and flames leaping from part of another as emergency crews trained water on it. An orange-red glow lit up the city as plumes of smoke wafted across the horizon. By morning, the Kyiv city military administration reported damage in six districts of the Ukrainian capital, and a total so far of 14 people wounded.

As dawn broke on Saturday, residents at an apartment building just outside the centre of Kyiv were surveying the damage caused by drones.

A woman carrying her dog away from the scene of an overnight drone and missile strike on Kyiv (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Dozens of windows had been shattered, and balconies on one side of the building were smashed.

"I wish they’d agree to a ceasefire. To bomb people like this," said Olha Chyrukha, a 64-year-old resident. "The poor children! My three-year-old granddaughter was screaming scared."

A 62-year-old resident, who gave only her first name of Kateryna, said: "It is a great distress for people. The first thing that I thought is that people got hurt for nothing."

14 people injured in largest drone and missile attack on Kyiv

At least 14 people were injured in one of the biggest combined drone and ballistic missile attacks to date on the Ukrainian capital, the city's military administration said in a post on messaging app Telegram on Saturday.

The Ukrainian air force said that Russia launched 250 long-range drones overnight, with the target being Kyiv.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in maps

Below you can see the latest map of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The map has been provided by the British Ministry of Defence, who has been publishing regular intelligence updates on the state of the war on Ukraine.

Trump’s involvement in Ukraine peace talks ‘giving Putin more power’, Yulia Navalnaya says

The Russian activist and widow of the late Russian dissident Alexei Navalny said Trump speaking to the Russian president “like they’re equal” is making him more powerful.

She made the remarks while speaking at a sold-out event with Alastair Campbell at Wales’ Hay Festival on Friday, which The Independent is once again partnering with.

Athena Stavrou reports live from Hay Festival:

Trump heralds prisoner swap - before it takes place

Earlier on Friday, US president Donald Trump heralded the Ukraine and Russia prisoner swap, before it had been completed.

“A major prisoners swap was just completed between Russia and Ukraine,” he wrote on Friday morning US time.

“It will go into effect shortly. Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation. This could lead to something big???”

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown (AP)

'We waited, hoped': Families wait for returned Ukrainian prisoners

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted photographs of the 390 released Ukrainian captives, all with shaven heads, celebrating their release and wrapped in Ukrainian flags.

Ukrainian media outlet Espreso TV published a video of the wife of a prisoner crying tears of joy, wrapped in a flag on Kyiv's Independence Square. She said she had been waiting for her husband's release since 2022, and had just received the call from Ukrainian authorities confirming the good news.

"We waited, hoped and fought," said the woman, whose name was given as Victoria.

Massive Russian attack of drones and missiles on Ukraine injure eight

At least eight people were injured after Russia attacked Ukraine's capital Kyiv early today with drones and missiles, triggering fires, strewing debris in districts throughout the city, the city's mayor said.

Reuters reported successive waves of drones flying over Kyiv and a series of explosions jolting the city.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two residents had required hospital treatment and that air defence units were in action.

Pictures posted online showed smoke billowing from the top of one block of flats and flames leaping from part of another as emergency crews trained water on it.

An orange-red glow lit up the city as plumes of smoke wafted across the horizon.

Mr Klitschko said fragments from one drone struck the top floor of an apartment building in the Solomynskyi district on the west bank of the Dnipro River, which bisects the city. One apartment building was on fire in the area as was one non-residential building.

Photos show scale of Russian attack on Ukraine overnight

Firefighters pass water to each other after a Russian attack in Kyiv (AP)

A firefighter works on the site of a residential building damaged after a Russian attack in Kyiv (AP)

Local residents walk on a street with pieces of broken glass at the site of a residential building that was damaged after a Russian attack in Kyiv (AP)

Police officers investigate fragments of a Russian drone at the site of a residential building damaged after a Russian attack in Kyiv (AP)

In pictures: Ukrainian prisoners return home

Russia released 390 Ukrainian prisoners on Friday including 120 civilians in part of the first stage of a prisoner of war exchange with Ukraine.

Ukraine also returned 390 Russian prisoners, who will undergo medical treatment in Belarus before returning home.

Putin says he wants boost to Russian arms exports

Russia needs to strengthen its position in the global arms market by increasing exports of weapons, country’s 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.

Russian president Vladimir Putin attends a ceremony to present highest state awards in the Catherine Hall of the Kremlin's Senate Palace in Moscow (Sputnik)

Former Ukrainian commander says Ukraine cannot regain all lost territory

Former Ukrainian commander and now ambassador to the UK, Valery Zaluzhnyi, said Ukraine should abandon hope of regaining all territory lost to Russia.

"I hope that there are not people in this room who still hope for some kind of miracle or lucky sign that will bring peace to Ukraine, the borders of 1991 or 2022, and that there will be great happiness afterward," Zaluzhnyi said in a speech published by the Ukrainska Pravda news outlet on Friday.

"My personal opinion is that the enemy still has resources, forces and means to launch strikes on our territory and attempt specific offensive operations.”

Russia occupied the Crimea peninsula in 2014, and its armed forces now control about a fifth of Ukrainian territory.

General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United Kingdom and former commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine looks around the exhibition, at the Tank museum in Bovington, Dorset (Getty Images)

Russia's Lavrov vows response to drone attacks on Moscow

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said Ukraine will be held responsible for drone attacks on Moscow.

The Russian minister said the surge of Ukrainian drone attacks – some 800 sent against Russian targets over the last three days – was "a direct consequence" of support for Ukraine by European Union countries whose leaders visited Kyiv in recent days.

"We are certain that they will be held accountable for their share of responsibility for these crimes," Mr Lavrov said, referring to the European countries.

"This is clearly an attempt to disrupt peace talks and undermine progress made in Istanbul following the agreements between the presidents of Russia and the United States... We will continue this work no matter what provocations there may be."

Russia wasting time with 'so-called' peace memorandums, says Zelensky

Volodymyr Zelensky has blamed Russian leader Vladimir Putin of wasting the world’s time by delaying the peace process.

“When Russia takes a whole week just to come up with a so-called ‘memorandum’ as their response to calls for a ceasefire – this is nothing but mockery of the entire world. So much time wasted,” he said in his nightly address.

“Every day of this war costs lives. Of course, in Russia, lives don’t count. But the world must count them. New sanctions against Russia are needed. I thank everyone who is advocating for this,” he said.

Russia's Lavrov says will present peace accord draft after prisoner exchange

Russia will be ready to hand Ukraine a draft document outlining conditions for a long-term peace accord once a prisoner exchange now under way is completed, country’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said.

Mr Lavrov, in statements on his ministry's website, said Russia was committed to working out a peaceful settlement in the more than three-year-old war pitting Moscow against Kyiv.

Russia and Ukraine each released 390 prisoners yesterday and said they would free more in the coming days, an initiative agreed in talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Turkey last week.

"We remain committed to a peace settlement. We are always open to talks...and let me stress that we are committed to the agreements that were achieved recently in Istanbul," Mr Lavrov said.

"We are working actively on the second part of the agreements which call for preparation by each side of a draft document setting out the conditions for achieving a reliable, long-term agreement on a settlement,” he said.

"As soon as the exchange of prisoners of war is completed we will be ready to hand to the Ukrainian side a draft of such a document which the Russian side is now completing,” the Russian minister said.

Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, who was decorated with the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle the First-Called, attends a state awards ceremony hosted by Russian President at the Kremlin in Moscow (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Russian hackers target Western firms shipping aid to Ukraine, US intelligence says

Hackers working for Russian military intelligence targeted Western technology and logistics companies involved in shipping assistance to Ukraine, the US National Security Agency said.

The hackers were trying to obtain details about the type of assistance entering Ukraine and, as part of the effort, sought access to the feeds of internet-connected cameras near Ukrainian border crossings, according to the NSA's report on the cyberattack, which was issued late Wednesday.

The cyber campaign sought to penetrate defense, transportation and logistics companies in several Western countries, including the US, as well as ports, airports and rail systems. The report didn’t specify which types of aid Russia was surveilling, but Ukraine’s allies have contributed significant amounts of military and humanitarian assistance since the war began.

Russia and Ukraine swap hundreds of prisoners of war

President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the first phase brought home 390 Ukrainians, with further releases expected over the weekend that will make it the largest swap of the war.

Russia's defence ministry also confirmed the swap and said it received the same number from Ukraine.

The swap took place at the border with Belarus in northern Ukraine, according to a Ukrainian official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly.

The released Russians were taken to Belarus for medical treatment, the Russian defence ministry said.

As the freed men entered the medical facility yesterday, people holding signs and photos of their relatives shouted names or brigade numbers, seeking any news of a loved one."

Vanya!" cried Nataliia Mosych, among the gathered relatives, "My husband!"

The exchange, the latest of dozens of swaps since the war began and the biggest involving Ukrainian civilians at one time, didn't herald any halt in fighting on the war frontline.

Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) react following a prisoner swap at an undisclosed location (EPA)

Russian drones and missiles on Ukraine injure eight

At least eight people were injured after Russia attacked Ukraine's capital Kyiv early today with drones and missiles, triggering fires, strewing debris in districts throughout the city, the city's mayor said.

Reuters reported successive waves of drones flying over Kyiv and a series of explosions jolting the city.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two residents had required hospital treatment and that air defence units were in action.

Pictures posted online showed smoke billowing from the top of one block of flats and flames leaping from part of another as emergency crews trained water on it.

An orange-red glow lit up the city as plumes of smoke wafted across the horizon.

Mr Klitschko said fragments from one drone struck the top floor of an apartment building in the Solomynskyi district on the west bank of the Dnipro River, which bisects the city. One apartment building was on fire in the area as was one non-residential building.

Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said a fire had also broken out on two floors of an apartment building in Dniprovskyi district on the opposite bank.

Officials also reported a fire in Obolon in the city's northern suburbs and fallen debris on a shopping centre in the same area. They said drone fragments hit the ground in a number of other widely separated neighbourhoods.

An air alert remained in effect more than two hours after it was first declared.

The overnight strikes followed several days of some 800 attacks on targets inside Russia, including capital Moscow.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov had vowed yesterday to respond to those attacks.

In pictures: Ukraine welcomes 390 returned prisoners

(EPA)

(EPA)

'We waited, hoped': Families wait for returned Ukrainian prisoners

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted photographs of the 390 released Ukrainian captives, all with shaven heads, celebrating their release and wrapped in Ukrainian flags.

Ukrainian media outlet Espreso TV published a video of the wife of a prisoner crying tears of joy, wrapped in a flag on Kyiv's Independence Square. She said she had been waiting for her husband's release since 2022, and had just received the call from Ukrainian authorities confirming the good news.

"We waited, hoped and fought," said the woman, whose name was given as Victoria.

(President Volodymyr Zelensky/Telegram)

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