Russian forces have launched one of the largest strikes on Ukrainian territory in recent weeks, injuring more than a dozen people in Kyiv, according to local authorities.
The nighttime attack on Kyiv came hours after Russia and Ukraine launched the biggest prisoner swap since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.
The two sides traded hundreds of soldiers and civilians in a process that was set to continue over the weekend.
Describing the attack as a “difficult night” for Ukraine, President Volodymr Zelenskyy said “rescue operations are ongoing and emergency services are working at the sites of impacts and fallen debris - wherever necessary.”
“There were many fires and explosions in the city at night. Residential buildings, cars, and businesses were again damaged. Unfortunately, there are injured people,” he added,
The Ukrainian Air Force said 14 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles, as well as about 250 Shahed attack drones and various types of drone decoys were used in the overnight attack on May 24, with the country's capital being the primary target.
The air force said its defenses had shot down six ballistic missiles aimed at Kyiv and that 245 enemy drones had been destroyed. The aerial assault left at least 15 people injured in the city, according to police
Elsewhere, Russian missiles killed two people and wounded several others in Odesa earlier on May 23, authorities reported.
The Russian military said Ukraine had targeted it with 788 drones and missiles since May 20 and it had shot down 776 of them.
In condemning the May 24 strikes on Kyiv, Zelenskyy said that “with each such attack, the world becomes more convinced that the reason the war is dragging on lies in Moscow.”
“Ukraine has offered cease-fires many times -- both full and limited to the skies,” he said. “All of this has been ignored. It’s clear that much more pressure must be put on Russia to get results and start genuine diplomacy.”
Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine was “waiting for sanctions from the US, Europe and all our partners.”
“Only additional sanctions against key sectors of the Russian economy will force Moscow to cease fire,” he added.
Zelenskyy also commented on the ongoing prisoner swaps.
"We are bringing our people home," he said in a post on Telegram. "The first part of the agreement on the 1,000-for-1,000 exchange has been implemented."
An exchange of that many people from each side would be the largest of several prisoner swaps so far in Russia's war on Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said 390 people from each side were exchanged and the swap was expected to continue on May 24-25. That number included 270 soldiers and 120 civilians, Russian and Ukrainian officials said.
Hours earlier, US President Donald Trump congratulated both sides, adding on his Truth Social platform: "This could lead to something big???" Previous exchanges have not led to tangible progress on ending the war.
A day earlier, Zelenskyy said the prisoner swap agreement was “perhaps the only real result” of the 90-minute meeting between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators in Istanbul on May 16 -- the first direct peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials since shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The exchange took place at Ukraine's border with Belarus, a Russian ally that has supported the invasion without sending its own troops to fight in the war.
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Hundreds Of Ukrainians And Russians Freed In Mass Prisoner Swap
Three women were among the 390 Ukrainians returning home, Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said on Telegram.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that the 120 civilians released by Ukraine included residents of the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces held a swath of territory for months after a surprise invasion last August.
A Ukrainian organization involved in exchanges said that 70 of the people swapped by Ukraine were Ukrainians who have been convicted of crimes such as collaboration, treason, and terrorism and had expressed the desire to be sent to Russia.
Russia has rejected calls by Ukraine, the United States, and European countries for a 30-day cease-fire, and no new meeting has been scheduled in the wake of the negotiations in Istanbul.
Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 19, saying afterward on Truth Social that Russia and Ukraine would "immediately start negotiations" toward a cease-fire and an end to the war. He suggested the Vatican as a possible venue for further talks.
SEE ALSO: Donald, Vladimir, And A 2-Hour Phone Call: Did Putin Get The Better Of Trump?Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov threw cold water on that idea on May 23 and emphasized that no date for a new meeting had been set.
"Many people are fantasizing about when and where it will take place. We don't have any ideas right now," Lavrov said in remarks at the Diplomatic Academy in Moscow, adding that it would be “a bit inelegant” for Russia and Ukraine, which are predominantly Orthodox Christian, to “use a Catholic platform” for the talks.
"I think it would not be very comfortable for the Vatican itself to host delegations from two Orthodox countries in these circumstances," Lavrov said.
Lavrov added that Russia will present Ukraine with a draft document outlining its terms for a potential long-term peace agreement as soon as the prisoner exchange is completed.
Ukraine and European governments have accused Russia of conditioning a cease-fire on unacceptable demands and failing to negotiate in good faith. Many analysts say Putin has not given up on the goal of subjugating Ukraine.
One of several major sticking points is the Kremlin's demand that Ukraine withdraw its forces from four partially Russian-occupied mainland regions that Moscow baselessly claims belong to Russia. Zelenskyy has stressed that Ukraine will not withdraw troops from its own territory.