Kyiv suffers drone and missile attack amid historic Ukraine-Russia prisoner swap deal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has reacted after Russia launched a massive attack on Kyiv just hours after US President Donald Trump announced a historic prisoner swap.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said new international sanctions were needed to force Russia to agree a ceasefire, after Russian drone and missile strikes on Kyiv overnight injured 15 people.
“Only additional sanctions targeting key sectors of the Russian economy will force Moscow to cease fire,” he said on X, adding that “the cause of prolonging the war lies in Moscow”.
Kyiv suffered the attack as Ukraine and Russia were in the middle of a major prisoner swap.
Kyiv’s civil and military administration chief Tymur Tkachenko reported fires and fallen debris in several parts of the Ukrainian capital, after AFP journalists heard explosions overnight.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said air defence systems had been in constant operationn across Kyiv.
“The capital and the region are again under massive enemy attack,” he said.
In response, Russian military said Ukraine had targeted it with 788 drones and missiles since Tuesday, 776 of which had been shot down.
The Kyiv attack comes hours after Russia and Ukraine completed the first stage of a prisoner exchange negotiated at talks in Istanbul last week.
TRUMP ANNOUNCES PRISONER SWAP
US President Donald made the exchange agreement public on Friday.
“A major prisoners swap was just completed between Russia and Ukraine. It will go into effect shortly,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation.
“This could lead to something big???” he finished hopefully.
If completed, it would be the biggest swap since the start of the conflict.
So far, both sides have received 390 prisoners as part of the first stage with both agreeing to exchange 1000 each in total.
Russia has signalled it will send Ukraine its terms for a peace settlement after the swap, which is will be staggered over three days but it did not disclose the terms.
Ukraine and Russia have held regular exchanges since Russia launched its 2022 invasion – but none have been of this scale.
While Ukraine has put a ceasefire agreement on the table, Mr Trump’s ongoing efforts to press Russia to do the same have yet to bear fruit.
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RUSSIA ACCUSED OF EXECUTING SURRENDERED UKRAINIAN TROOPS
Ukraine intercepted a radio communication from a Russian commander allegedly ordering his troops to execute Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered to them.
Kyiv officials shared the harrowing recording with CNN along with corresponding drone footage from the incident which is purported to have taken place in November.
The translated audio of the message reads; “Capture the commander and kill the others.”
Meanwhile the drone footage shows six Ukrainian soldiers lying face down with two shot at point bank range and a third lead away by the Russians.
Prosecutors in Ukraine are investigating the recording and footage to establish if a war crime has been committed.
UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Morris Tidball-Binz told CNN said the footage was consistent with other reported incidents.
Mr Tidball-Binz described the alleged incident as a “grave breach” which would have been ordered from high up.
“(Executions) would not happen with such numbers and frequency without orders – or at the very least consent – from (the) highest military commanders, which in Russia means the Presidency,” he said.
RUBIO STOPS SHORT OF LABELLING PUTIN A WAR CRIMINAL
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday steered clear of calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal,” saying the priority was negotiations to end the Ukraine conflict.
In a fiery congressional hearing, Democratic Representative Bill Keating recalled Rubio’s heated criticism of Putin’s record when the top US diplomat served as a senator, and asked him if he still believed Putin is a “war criminal.” “Crimes have been committed in the war on Ukraine, and there will be accountability for that, but our goal right now is to end that war,” Rubio said.
“Because let me tell you, every single day that that war goes on, people are killed, more people are maimed and, frankly, more war crimes are being committed,” he said.
Keating accused Rubio of being “inconsistent” and “equivocating.” Rubio later responded to a fellow Republican by saying there was a value in speaking to Russia.
“If there had not been communications between the US and Russia in 1961,” Rubio said, “the world could have ended during the Cuban Missile Crisis.” President Donald Trump spoke Monday by telephone to Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his latest effort, so far unsuccessful, to end the war.
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF UKRAINIANS ATTEMPT TO FLEE CONSCRIPTION
Ukrainian border guards have prevented tens of thousands of military service-age men from illegally leaving the country since the start of Russia’s invasion, a spokesman for the border guard told AFP Wednesday.
Under martial law, most Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 have been barred from leaving the country, unless they receive an official permission or qualify for an exemption.
But thousands have still attempted to flee to avoid being drafted in the Ukrainian army, which is struggling to recruit.
The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine said it detained “around 45,000 Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 since February 24, 2022”, spokesman Andriy Demchenko told AFP.
“Another 4,000 citizens were detained at checkpoints for attempting to illegally cross the border using forged documents or by falsifying other grounds that would give them the right to cross the border,” he added.
Kyiv has been trying to crack down on draft dodgers and encourage Ukrainians to return to their country to replenish the ranks of the army, which is struggling against Russian troops making gains in the east.
– with AFP
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