The governments of Moscow and Kiev are undergoing prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Voldimi Zelensky said the exchange would unfold “in several stages” over the next few days, adding that injured, serious injuries and soldiers under the age of 25 have been returned.
Written on Telegram, Zelensky states: “The process is extremely complicated. There are many delicate details and negotiations are virtually continuing every day.”
Russia said that “similar numbers” of prisoners have been returned to Ukraine, but neither side provided an exact figure as to how many people were exchanged.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said that “the first group of Russian military personnel under the age of 25 have been returned from territory controlled by the Kiev regime,” following the agreement reached between the countries fighting during talks in Turkey.
Similar to past interactions, Moscow said that the Russian soldiers exchanged were receiving psychological and medical assistance in Belarus.
On the Ukrainian side, prisoners of war and missing parents gathered in the Chernikv area near the border with Belarus greet the released prisoners, often seeking news of others who are still in confinement.
Last week, Moscow and Kiev accused each other of disrupting the planned deportation of the bodies of dead soldiers.
In late May, Russia and Ukraine handed over 390 soldiers and civilians in the largest prisoner exchange since Russia began a full-scale invasion in 2022.
Meanwhile, the war lasted overnight, with Moscow launching 479 drones in Ukraine.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said it targeted the base at Duvno in Livne in response to a bold Ukrainian drone attack on Russian airfields on June 1, describing it as “one of the retaliatory strikes.”
Overnight Russian launches caused damage in several Ukrainian regions, but no reports of casualties were reported.
Russia recently escalated its attack on Ukraine, bringing a new record of drones in the country every week.
Kiev said it had attacked another Russian air force base in the Nizhny Novgorod region, 400 miles from the Ukrainian border.
Ukraine said there was a base plane that fired a Hi-sonic missile and damaged “two units of enemy aircraft.”
They also targeted electronics factories that Kyiv says are making equipment for guiding drones and air bombs.
The video shows one of the explosions caused by the attack drone and a major fire in the plant. Production has been stopped.
