- Russia launched nearly 500 drones and missiles at Ukraine late Sunday, the biggest overnight drone bombardment of the war.
- The attack is a retaliation after Ukraine attacked Russian air bases on June 1.
- As attacks continue between Russia and Ukraine, the two countries exchanged prisoners on Monday.
Russia launched nearly 500 drones and missiles at Ukraine late Sunday, marking the biggest overnight drone bombardment of the war, the Ukrainian Air Force reported on Monday.
According to The Associated Press, the strike comes after Ukraine attacked Russian air bases on June 1. It also comes as part of the Kremlin’s summer offensive amid direct peace talks, which haven’t yet made any progress toward stopping the fighting.
Even though the two countries haven’t been able to reach a ceasefire, Ukraine and Russia swapped another batch of prisoners on Monday.
The Sunday night drone attack
Russia’s overnight bombardment included 479 drones and 20 missiles of various types, which were fired at different areas of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Air Force said that barrage mainly targeted the central and western parts of the country.
“According to preliminary data, as of 10:30, air defense neutralized 479 enemy air attack vehicles, 292 were shot down by fire weapons, 187 were lost in location,” the air force said in a message, per ABC.
Ukrainian officials say that only 10 drones or missiles hit their targets and one person was injured.
As the strikes began, the Ukrainian air force issued a number of alerts saying Russian drones were targeting multiple areas throughout the country, according to ABC. Following these alerts, Polish and allied planes briefly scrambled in Polish airspace.
Along with the recent escalation in aerial attacks, there has been a renewed Russian battlefield push along eastern and northeastern parts of the front line.
According to the AP, on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “the situation is very difficult” in some of those areas.
The latest prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia
As Russia and Ukraine fail to reach a ceasefire, the two countries have exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war — both soldiers and civilians — which is a small sign of cooperation.
The latest prisoner swap occurred on Monday and the staggered exchange process is expected to continue over the coming days, per the AP. The swap included wounded soldiers and those under 25 years old.
“The process is quite complicated, there are many sensitive details, negotiations continue virtually every day,” Zelenskyy said, per BBC.
Petro Yatsenko, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian body overseeing prisoners, said the Ukrainian POWs were in poor health. During their imprisonment, they lacked food and had no access to medical care.
The AP reported that over 200 Ukrainian POWs have died during imprisonment since the war started in 2022.