Large-scale Russian drone and missile attacks heard throughout Kiev have exploded
Kiev, Ukraine (AP) – Ukraine’s capital was hit by massive Russian drone and missile attacks earlier on Saturday, with explosions and machine gun fires heard throughout the city, forcing many Kiev residents to live in underground stations.
The nighttime Russian attack took place hours after Russia and Ukraine began a major prisoner exchange, and at a meeting in Istanbul last week, the first phase of the agreed exchange exchange was exchanged with hundreds of soldiers and civilians. The agreement is a moment of cooperation in efforts to reach a ceasefire in the 3-year-old war.
Tymur Tkachenko, acting director of the Kiev Military Administration, wrote in a telegram that earlier on Saturday, debris of intercepted missiles and drones fell in at least four urban areas of the capital. According to Tkachenko, six people needed medical services after the attack, and two fires sparked by the Sororoniaski district in Kiev.
Prior to the attack, Mayor Vitali Klitschko warned Kyiv residents more than 20 Russian strike drones to Kiev. As the attack continued, he said drone debris fell on shopping malls and a residential building in the Oberon area of Kiev. Crichko said emergency services have been to the scene.
The prisoner swap Friday is the first phase of a complex swap involving the exchange of 1,000 prisoners from both sides.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the first phase brought home 390 Ukrainians and was expected to be further released over the weekend, which would be the biggest swap in the war. The Russian Defense Ministry said it obtained the same number from Ukraine.
When the released person entered the medical facility on Friday, he shouted his name or traveler with his signs and photos of his relatives, seeking any news from his loved ones. The returner checked the photos, and a soldier said he shared a cell with a man in the ocean to his portrait.
“Vanya!” Natalia Mosych cried, among the gathered relatives: “My husband!”
She said she had been around for nearly two years and she had not seen her husband Ivan.
“It’s an incredible feeling. I’m still shocked.” “I’m really happy that we haven’t been forgotten and we still have something to do with Ukraine.”
This will be the latest dozens of swaps since the war began, and the largest exchange involved in Ukrainian civilians, without understanding any pauses in the battle.
The battle also continued along the frontline of about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), where thousands of soldiers were killed and none of the nation was surrendered in a deep strike.
