Russia hits Ukraine with record 479-drone strike ahead of POW swap

Large-scale Russian attacks connected Ukraine proceed contempt the Kremlin showing involvement successful pursuing bid talks.

Russia has launched 479 drones against Ukraine successful the biggest overnight drone bombardment of the three-year war, according to the Ukrainian aerial force.

The aerial unit said aboriginal connected Monday that it had downed 460 drones arsenic good arsenic 19 missiles launched overnight.

Russia’s continued to measurement up its drone and rocket attacks connected Ukraine, contempt declaring, nether unit from United States President Donald Trump, that it is funny successful pursuing bid talks. The grounds motorboat came conscionable up of the commencement of a captive swap agreed astatine caller talks betwixt the pair.

Of the hundreds of projectiles fired astatine galore targets, lone 10 reached their destination, Kyiv officials said. One idiosyncratic was reported injured.

Russia’s escalation of aerial attacks has been matched by a renewed battlefield propulsion successful the eastbound and northeastern parts of the astir 1,000km (621-mile) beforehand enactment successful occupied parts of Ukraine.

The onslaught follows a secretive Ukrainian drone attack that damaged respective Russian bombers parked astatine airbases heavy wrong the state successful what was an embarrassment for the Kremlin and, according to Kyiv, a palpable deed connected its quality to onslaught crossed the borderline with missiles.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said 1 people of Kyiv’s onslaught was the Dubno airbase successful Ukraine’s Rivne region, which hosts tactical aviation aircraft.

The politician of the occidental metropolis of Rivne, Oleksandr Tretyak, said the overnight drone motorboat was “the largest attack” connected his portion since the commencement of the war.

Prisoner swap

Late connected Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy conceded that successful immoderate areas targeted by the Russian offensive, “the concern is precise difficult”. However, helium provided nary details.

Ukraine is shorthanded connected the beforehand enactment against its bigger force and needs further subject enactment from its Western partners, particularly aerial defences. However, uncertainty astir the US argumentation has led to doubts astir however overmuch assistance Kyiv tin number on.

Two caller rounds of nonstop bid talks betwixt Russian and Ukrainian delegations successful Istanbul person yielded nary breakthroughs beyond pledges to swap thousands of prisoners, including dormant and earnestly wounded soldiers.

Since the agreement, believed to interest an speech of astir 1,200 prisoners by each, was struck past week, the brace has accused 1 different of failing to conscionable their obligations.

However, the archetypal batch of POWs was repatriated connected Monday afternoon.

“Today’s speech has begun. It volition beryllium done successful respective stages successful the coming days,” Zelenskyy said connected the Telegram app. “Among those we are bringing backmost present are the wounded, the severely wounded, and those nether the property of 25,” helium added.

The Russian defence ministry besides said the archetypal speech had been carried out. It did not accidental however galore prisoners had been swapped, but did enactment that the numbers connected each broadside matched.

The Russian Defence Ministry said connected Monday that its forces changeable down 49 Ukrainian drones overnight implicit 7 Russian regions.

Two drones deed a works specialising successful physics warfare instrumentality successful the Chuvashia region, located much than 600km (373 miles) eastbound of Moscow, officials reported.

Since the opening of the warfare successful 2022, Russia has targeted some subject and civilian areas of Ukraine with Shahed drones. The attacks person killed much than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations. However, Russia claims it attacks lone subject targets.

Alexander Gusev, caput of Russia’s Voronezh region, said 25 drones had been changeable down determination overnight, damaging a state pipeline and sparking a tiny fire.

The wide unit of the Ukrainian equipped forces besides claimed that its peculiar operations troops struck 2 Russian jets stationed astatine the Savasleyka airfield successful Russia’s Novgorod region, located immoderate 650km (404 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The connection did not accidental however the planes were struck.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies