Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky early Saturday condemned Russia’s overnight strikes on several areas in Ukraine, including Kyiv, as the two sides began the first stages of a prisoner swap this week.
Zelensky wrote on social media that the overnight attack targeted the Odesa, Vinnytsia, Sumy, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kyiv and Dnipro regions, which suffered heavy damages. He added that the Kremlin’s drones and missiles “targeted” civilians.
“There are fatalities. My condolences to the families and loved ones,” he wrote on social platform X. “With each such attack, the world becomes more certain that the cause of prolonging the war lies in Moscow.”
“Ukraine has proposed a ceasefire many times — both a full one and one in the skies. It all has been ignored,” the Ukrainian leader added.
Zelensky stressed that only sanctions, imposed by the U.S. and Western Europe, will force Russia into agreeing to a ceasefire.
The Kremlin fired ballistic missiles and targeted Kyiv with drones overnight, injuring 15 people and damaging several apartment buildings, according to Ukrainian officials. The attacks came after Ukraine’s drone attacks on Russia earlier this week, including deep inside the Kremlin’s territory.
The overnight attacks unfolded as the two sides, engaged in the war for over three years, had successfully swapped prisoners. Early Saturday, each side brought home 307 soldiers as part of the deal, ironed out in Turkey, to ultimately exchange 1,000 prisoners.
Zelensky said that, so far, 697 prisoners have been brought back to Ukraine, with more expected to be swapped on Sunday.
“Among those who returned today are warriors from our Armed Forces, the State Border Guard Service, the National Guard of Ukraine,” Zelensky wrote in a separate post on Saturday. “I thank everyone involved in the exchange process, those who have been working around the clock.”
The attacks also come as President Trump has largely stepped back from his demands for an immediate 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Instead, Trump has pressed the two sides to come to the negotiation table to discuss what broader peace talks could look like.
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