Russia and Ukraine swapped hundreds more prisoners on Sunday on the third day of a prisoner swap, making it the largest in more than three years of war.
ADVERTISEMENTThe news came hours after Russia launched a large-scale drone and missile attack on regions across Ukraine, killing at least 12 people.
Each side brought home 303 more soldiers, after each released a total of 307 combatants and civilians on Saturday, and 390 on Friday.
"303 Ukrainian defenders are home. The third part of the 1000-for-1000 exchange deal, agreed upon in Türkiye, has been completed.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on his X account on Sunday. "Today, warriors of our Armed Forces, the National Guard, the State Border Guard Service, and the State Special Transport Service are returning home."
Overnight, Russia targeted Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions with a large-scale drone and missile attack, killing at least 12 people, according to local officials.
Nearly 300 drone attacks and some 70 missiles were launched at Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian president.
The majority of Ukrainian soldiers released were taken captive in the Donetsk region, some as long ago as 2022, the Ukrainian leader said in a separate video address.
He added that others were captured in territories of the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and Luhansk regions.
Kyiv and Moscow agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners from each side during the talks in Istanbul last week. It marks a rare moment of cooperation between the two nations, who have failed multiple times to reach a ceasefire deal.