The China Mail - 12 killed as Russia pummels Ukraine in fresh night of strikes

Ukraine's emergency services described a night of "terror" as Russia launched a second straight night of major air strikes on Ukraine, including on the capital Kyiv, after pummelling the country with ballistic missiles and drones overnight Friday to Saturday.

The latest fire comes as the two sides pursue their biggest prisoner swap since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, and as the United States tries to broker a ceasefire to halt the three-year-old war.

The death toll from the latest Russian strikes included three children ages eight, 12 and 17, killed in the northwestern region of Zhytomyr, officials said.

Ukraine's military said early Sunday it had shot down 45 Russian missiles and 266 attack drones overnight.

Four people were also reported dead in the western Khmelnytskyi region, four in the Kyiv region and one in Mykolaiv in the south.

Emergency services said four people were killed and 16 injured in the Kyiv region, including three children, in the "massive night attack".

AFP journalists heard explosions in Kyiv, with Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the city's military administration, warning "the night will not be easy".

The capital was "under attack" but "air defences are operating", said Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.

Russian authorities meanwhile reported that a dozen drones flying towards Moscow had been downed.

In Moscow, restrictions were imposed on at least four airports, including the main hub Sheremetyevo, the Russian civilian aviation authority said.

- 'Crazy feelings' -

The renewed attacks came after Russia launched 14 ballistic missiles and 250 drones overnight Friday to Saturday, which left 15 wounded, according to Ukrainian officials.

The Russian military said Saturday Ukraine had targeted it with 788 drones and missiles since Tuesday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia's attacks indicated Moscow was "prolonging the war" and repeated his call for ramped-up sanctions.

But he also said he expected officials to press on with a prisoner swap agreed during talks in Istanbul on May 16.

On Saturday, 307 Russian prisoners of war were exchanged for the same number of Ukrainian soldiers, according to announcements in Kyiv and Moscow.

Both sides received 390 people in the first stage on Friday.

They are expected to exchange 1,000 each in total.

Russia has signalled it will send Ukraine its terms for a peace settlement after the exchange, without saying what those terms would be.

The two enemies have held regular prisoner swaps, but this would be the largest so far, if completed.

An AFP reporter saw some of the formerly captive Ukrainian soldiers arrive at a hospital in the northern Chernigiv region, emaciated but smiling and waving to crowds waiting outside.

"It's simply crazy. Crazy feelings," 31-year-old Konstantin Steblev, a soldier, told AFP Friday as he stepped back onto Ukrainian soil after three years in captivity.

- Diplomatic push -

US President Donald Trump on Friday congratulated the two countries for the swap.

"This could lead to something big?" he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Trump's efforts to broker a ceasefire in Europe's biggest conflict since World War II have so far been unsuccessful, despite his pledge to rapidly end the fighting.

One of the soldiers formerly held captive, 58-year-old Viktor Syvak, told AFP it was hard to express his emotional homecoming.

"It's impossible to describe. I can't put it into words. It's very joyful," he said.

After more than three years of fighting, both countries are holding thousands of POWs.

Russia is believed to have the larger share, with the number of Ukrainian captives estimated to be between 8,000 and 10,000.

Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have stepped up in recent weeks, but the Kremlin has shown no sign of walking back maximalist demands for a negotiated peace.

President Vladimir Putin has defied European pressure for a full and unconditional truce in Ukraine, pressing on with the Russian military offensive, which has left tens of thousands dead.

B.Carter--ThChM