Moscow, May 24 (IANS) Russia and Ukraine on Saturday exchanged 307 prisoners each under an agreement reached during recent talks in Istanbul, said the Russian Defence Ministry.

The ministry said 307 Russian servicemen have “returned from Kyiv-controlled territory,” while the equivalent number of Ukrainian prisoners was freed as well.

“The large-scale exchange initiated by the Russian side will continue,” the ministry said.

The swap followed the exchange of 270 servicemen and 120 civilians from each side announced on Friday.

Following their direct negotiations in Istanbul last week, Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners on each side, marking the largest prisoner swap since the start of their conflict in 2022.

Meanwhile, the Russian forces fired a barrage of ballistic missiles and drones at the Ukrainian capital early Saturday, leaving at least 15 people injured, the Kyiv city military administration said in a statement, Xinhua news agency reported. The attack, one of the largest air assaults on Kyiv since the start of the conflict, caused damage to residential and non-residential infrastructure in six of the city’s 10 districts, the statement said.

Kyiv police reported that a shopping mall, several apartment buildings and an educational facility were among the damaged sites. The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia deployed 14 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles and 250 drones in the overnight attack on Ukraine, and Kiev was the primary target. The air defence intercepted six missiles and 245 drones.

The strike followed Russia’s attack on port infrastructure in Ukraine’s southern city of Odesa with two ballistic missiles on Friday, killing three people and injuring six others, according to Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper.

After the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the United States, Europe and other countries to impose new sanctions on Russia. “Only additional sanctions targeting key sectors of the Russian economy will force Moscow to cease fire,” Zelensky said on social platform X.

–IANS

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