The exchange of blows between Russia and Ukraine continues. This is happening against the background of attempts to reach a peace agreement and end the war. Air defense forces are repelling a massive attack by unmanned aerial vehicles in the Russian Lipetsk region, the governor of the region Igor Artamonov announced, quoted by the Bulgarian National Radio.
And at least 8 people were injured in an attack with drones and missiles on the Ukrainian capital Kiev, local authorities reported, quoted by news agencies.
Meanwhile, an exchange of 1,000 prisoners of war is underway between Russia and Ukraine.
Local authorities in Kiev are reporting fires and falling debris in several places in the Ukrainian capital. Agence France-Presse journalists heard explosions in the city that night, and Reuters reported "waves" of drones.
According to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, two of the wounded were hospitalized and the capital and the region were under massive enemy attack, with air defense systems operating for over two hours. There was also an air raid alert and explosions that night in the Odessa region.
Meanwhile, the Russian military reported that since Tuesday, Ukraine has attacked them with 788 drones and missiles, of which 776 were shot down. The attack on Kiev came hours after Russia and Ukraine completed the first stage of a prisoner exchange agreed last week in Istanbul, which, if completed, would be the largest of its kind since the conflict began.
The two sides have taken back 390 people, with a total expected to be 1,000 for each side.
After the exchange is complete, Moscow will present its conditions for a lasting peace, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. He rejected US President Donald Trump’s suggestion that peace talks be held in the Vatican, citing the following arguments.
But imagine the Vatican as a place for negotiations. It would be somewhat inelegant for Orthodox countries to use a Catholic platform to discuss issues of how to address the root causes of the conflict, Lavrov said.
The Russian foreign minister wants any future peace agreement for Ukraine to contain conditions that prevent the election and formation of a pro-Western government in Kiev, the Institute for the Study of War wrote.