[🇺🇦] Monitoring Russian and Ukraine War.

[Saif]

Russia downs 105 Ukrainian drones, fires Iskander missile

Russia said yesterday it had shot down 105 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, including dozens heading towards Moscow, as the war in Ukraine heats up even as major powers talk about ways to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two.

www.thedailystar.net

Russia downs 105 Ukrainian drones, fires Iskander missile
Flights at Moscow airports briefly halted

Russia said yesterday it had shot down 105 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, including dozens heading towards Moscow, as the war in Ukraine heats up even as major powers talk about ways to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two.

US President Donald Trump is pressuring Russia and Ukraine to end the more than three-year war but the two sides remain far apart. But while leaders talk of the prospects for peace, the war is intensifying: swarms of drones are being launched by both sides while fierce fighting is underway along key parts of the front.

Russia's defence ministry said 105 drones had been shot down over Russian regions between midnight and the early morning yesterday, including 35 over the Moscow region. The previous day, Russia said it shot down well over 300 Ukrainian drones.

Sergei Sobyanin, Moscow's mayor, said multiple drones had been shot down heading towards the capital, which along with the surrounding region has a population of 21 million people. Moscow's Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports briefly halted flights.

Separately, Russia said yesterday it had fired an Iskander-M missile at part of the city of Pokrov, formerly known as Ordzhonikidze, in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, destroying two Patriot missile launchers and an AN/MPQ-65 radar set.

Ukraine's air force reported damage in the Dnipropetrovsk region after an attack but did not specify the type of weapon.

Russia's defence ministry said its forces were advancing at key points along the front, and pro-Russian war bloggers said Russia had pierced Ukrainian lines between Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address that the heaviest frontline battles were around Pokrovsk.​

 

[Saif]

Major Russia-Ukraine prisoner-of-war exchange under way

Russia and Ukraine began a major prisoner swap on Friday expected to be the biggest of the war, as agreed last week at their first direct talks in more than three years, a Ukrainian military source said. Ukrainian authorities told reporters to assemble at a location in the northern Chernihiv regio

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Major Russia-Ukraine prisoner-of-war exchange under way
REUTERS
Published :
May 23, 2025 19:20
Updated :
May 23, 2025 19:33

Residents are seen at a street near buildings damaged by Russian military strikes, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town of Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine May 21, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Anatolii Stepanov

Russia and Ukraine began a major prisoner swap on Friday expected to be the biggest of the war, as agreed last week at their first direct talks in more than three years, a Ukrainian military source said.

Ukrainian authorities told reporters to assemble at a location in the northern Chernihiv region in anticipation that some freed prisoners could be brought there. The Ukrainian military source said the swap was still under way.

By mid-afternoon Moscow time, Russian state media had not yet reported the exchange was under way, and the Russian defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Russia and Ukraine each agreed after two hours of talks in Istanbul last week to swap 1,000 prisoners, but failed to agree to a ceasefire proposed by US President Donald Trump. Previous prisoner swaps have been mediated by the United Arab Emirates.

The prisoner swap was the only concrete step towards peace the two sides agreed at their talks in Istanbul.

“Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation. This could lead to something big???,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Trump had said the swap was already complete.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides are believed to have been wounded or killed in Europe’s deadliest war since World War Two, although neither side publishes accurate casualty figures. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians have also died as Russian forces have besieged and bombarded Ukrainian cities.

Ukraine says it is ready for a 30-day ceasefire immediately, but Russia, which launched the war by invading its neighbour in 2022 and now occupies about a fifth of Ukraine, says it will not pause its assaults until conditions are met first. A member of the Ukrainian delegation called those conditions “non-starters”.

Trump, who has shifted US policy from supporting Ukraine towards accepting some of Russia’s account of the war, had said he could tighten sanctions on Russia if Moscow blocked a peace deal. But after speaking to Putin on Monday he decided to take no action for now.

Moscow says it is ready for peace talks while the fighting goes on, and wants to discuss what it calls the war’s “root causes”, including its demands Ukraine cede more territory, and be disarmed and barred from military alliances with the West. Kyiv says that is tantamount to surrender and would leave it defenceless in the face of future Russian attacks.​

 

[Saif]

Russia, Ukraine each free first 390 prisoners in start of war's biggest swap

Russia and Ukraine each released 390 prisoners on Friday and said they would free more in the coming days, in what is expected to be the biggest prisoner swap of the war so far. The agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners each was the only concrete step towards peace to emerge last week from the fir

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Russia, Ukraine each free first 390 prisoners in start of war's biggest swap

REUTERS
Published :
May 24, 2025 11:54
Updated :
May 24, 2025 11:54

A still image from a video released by the Russian Defence Ministry shows what it said to be Russian service personnel captured by Ukrainian forces and released during the latest exchange of prisoners of war in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict, as they sit in a bus at an unknown location in Belarus, in this image taken from handout footage released May 23, 2025 — Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

Russia and Ukraine each released 390 prisoners on Friday and said they would free more in the coming days, in what is expected to be the biggest prisoner swap of the war so far.

The agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners each was the only concrete step towards peace to emerge last week from the first direct talks between the warring sides in more than three years, when they failed to agree a ceasefire.

Both sides said they had each released 270 soldiers and 120 civilians so far, with more due to be released on Saturday and Sunday.

The released Ukrainians arrived at a hospital in the northern Chernihiv region in buses and filed out, pale, most of them with shaven heads and wrapped in Ukrainian flags.

"I have no words to describe (my feelings). I was in captivity for 22 months,” said Ukrainian soldier Oleksandr Nehir. He embraced his wife who said she had not been informed of his release and came from their home in Sumy region out of hope.

"You can’t make it out if you don’t believe. You have to believe every day," Nehir said.

Another soldier, Oleksandr Tarasov, 38, from Mykolaiv, said he had been captured a year and nine months ago on the Kherson front after its recapture by Ukraine in 2022.

"I didn’t believe until this moment that it could happen," he said of his release.

The freed Russians arrived in Belarus, which neighbours Ukraine, where they were receiving psychological and medical assistance, the Russian Defence Ministry said.

They include civilians captured inside Russia's Kursk region during a Ukrainian incursion.

Video released by the ministry showed civilians on a bus, some smiling and others crying. "This is our gift, happiness," one woman said.

Another video showed released soldiers wearing military fatigues holding up a Russian and a Soviet flag and shouting "Hurrah!"

"Everything will be all right! Glory to Russia!" said one soldier.

TRUMP HAILS RELEASE

Referring to the prisoner swap earlier on Friday, US President Donald Trump, who had pressed the sides to meet last week, wrote on Truth Social: "Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation. This could lead to something big???"

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides are believed to have been wounded or killed in Europe's deadliest war since World War Two, although neither side publishes accurate casualty figures. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians have also died as Russian forces have besieged and bombarded Ukrainian cities.

Ukraine on Friday reiterated that it is ready for a 30-day ceasefire immediately.

Russia, which launched the war by invading its neighbour in 2022 and now occupies about a fifth of Ukraine, says it will not pause its assaults until conditions are met first. A member of the Ukrainian delegation called those conditions "non-starters".

Trump, who has shifted US policy from supporting Kyiv towards accepting some of Moscow's account of the war, had said he could tighten sanctions on Russia if it blocked peace. But after speaking to Putin on Monday he decided to take no action for now.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov told reporters at the hospital that the swap was "the first stage" and that Kyiv still hoped to secure a ceasefire.

"We hope that the U.S. will support Ukraine in achieving the ceasefire," he said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that Moscow would hand Kyiv a draft document outlining its conditions for a long-term peace agreement once the prisoner exchange is completed.

STILL HOPING

Near the hospital in the Chernihiv region, dozens of people, mostly women, stood in line along a street holding up photographs of men they hoped would be included in the swap.

Many said they had relatives who were missing in action and that they had come to find out any news they could from those who had just been released.

"It’s very difficult," said Oksana Astapenko, carrying her daughter Anhelina on her shoulders and tearing up as she spoke.

"We're still hoping. We don't know if he's in captivity or not… he's just missing. We're hoping for positive news that he's there."​

 

[Saif]

Ukraine’s Zelensky expected to visit Berlin on Wednesday, sources say

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to visit Berlin on Wednesday, several sources told Reuters on Monday. A spokesperson for the chancellery declined to comment on the planned meeting, which was first reported by news outlet Spiegel. Spiegel said Zelensky would hold talks with Germ

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Ukraine’s Zelensky expected to visit Berlin on Wednesday, sources say

REUTERS
Published :
May 26, 2025 19:33
Updated :
May 26, 2025 19:33

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to visit Berlin on Wednesday, several sources told Reuters on Monday.

A spokesperson for the chancellery declined to comment on the planned meeting, which was first reported by news outlet Spiegel.

Spiegel said Zelensky would hold talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz about possible steps towards further technical talks between Ukraine and Russia as well as briefing him on plans for a new EU sanctions package against Russia, Spiegel reported.

The leaders are also expected to discuss further military support for Ukraine, the report said, adding that Zelensky would also meet with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Shortly after taking office earlier this month, Merz travelled with his French, British and Polish counterparts to Kyiv where they declared that Russia would be hit by new punitive measures if it did not heed calls for a 30-day ceasefire within days.​

 

[Saif]

Russia fired record barrage of 355 drones at Ukraine overnight: Kyiv

In the western Khmelnytsky region, local authorities said that 18 residential buildings were damaged by Russian drones.

en.prothomalo.com

Russia fired record barrage of 355 drones at Ukraine overnight: Kyiv
AFP Kyiv, Ukraine
Published: 26 May 2025, 15: 08

People look at a multistory residential building damaged following a drone strike in Kyiv on May 25, 2025, amid Russian invasion in Ukraine. Russia launched a record number of drones against Ukraine and killed 12 people across the country, officials said on May 25, even as Kyiv and Moscow completed their biggest prisoner exchange since the start of the war. AFP

Russia fired 355 drones at Ukraine overnight in the biggest such attack since Moscow’s 2022 invasion, Kyiv said on Monday, a day after Russian strikes killed 13 people.

US President Donald Trump earlier said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had gone “absolutely crazy” in a rare rebuke of the Kremlin chief as Moscow bombed Ukraine during a major prisoner exchange.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia had launched “355 Shahed-type drones”, including decoys, as well as nine cruise missiles, with its spokesman Yuriy Ignat confirming to AFP that it was the largest drone attack since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The drone strikes on Monday came after what Kyiv described as a weekend of “terror”.

Kyiv has so far not reported deaths from the drone attack, but said that Russian shelling in the last 24 hours had killed one civilian man in the north-eastern Sumy region, which has been under relentless Russian attack for several months.

Air alerts in Kyiv lasted for six hours, the capital’s authorities said.

In the western Khmelnytsky region, local authorities said that 18 residential buildings were damaged by Russian drones.

The head of the southern Odesa region said a 14-year-old boy was wounded there.​

 

[Saif]

Russia says Ukraine, backed by Europe, is trying to wreck peace talks

Russia's defence ministry said on Tuesday that Ukraine, backed by certain European countries, had taken several 'provocative steps' aimed at derailing Moscow-initiated direct peace talks with Kyiv. The first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in over three years took place on May 16, but fail

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Russia says Ukraine, backed by Europe, is trying to wreck peace talks

REUTERS
Published :
May 27, 2025 16:58
Updated :
May 27, 2025 16:58

Russia's Defence Minister Andrei Belousov attends a military parade on Victory Day, marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Red Square in central Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/Files

Russia's defence ministry said on Tuesday that Ukraine, backed by certain European countries, had taken several 'provocative steps' aimed at derailing Moscow-initiated direct peace talks with Kyiv.

The first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in over three years took place on May 16, but failed to produce a ceasefire agreement.

"At the initiative of the Russian Federation, direct Russian-Ukrainian dialogue on a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine has been resumed," the ministry said.

"At the same time, the Kyiv regime, supported by certain European countries, has taken a number of provocative steps aimed at disrupting the negotiation process."

According to the Russian ministry, since May 20, Ukraine has significantly increased drone and missile attacks on Russian territory, using Western-supplied munitions and targeting civilian areas.

Between the evening of May 20 and the morning of May 27, Russian air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 2,331 Ukrainian drones, including 1,465 outside the immediate conflict zone, the ministry said.

Ukraine has also reported a sharp escalation in Russian attacks on its territory, including a record barrage on Sunday night.

The intensification prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to comment that Russian President Vladimir Putin had "gone absolutely CRAZY," while also threatening new sanctions.

Russia's defence ministry on Tuesday said that its strikes were retaliatory, precise, and targeted solely at military facilities and enterprises within Ukraine’s military-industrial complex.​