KYIV, May 25: A massive Russian drone-and-missile attack targeted the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and other regions in the country for a second consecutive night, killing at least 12 people and injuring dozens. Russia hit Ukraine with 367 drones and missiles, making this the largest single attack of the more than three-years-long war.
In total, Russia used 69 missiles of various types and 298 drones, including Iranian-designed Shahed drones. The attack was “the most massive strike in terms of the number of air attack weapons on the territory of Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in 2022.”
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Western partners to ramp up sanctions on Russia, which has not materialized in ways to deter Russia. The attack came on the third day of a planned prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine, the only tangible outcome from peace talks in Istanbul earlier this month that have so far failed to produce a ceasefire. The exchange amounted to a rare moment of cooperation between the warring sides.
The attacks over the past 48 hours have been among the most intense strikes on Ukraine since the February 2022 full-scale war. The last in a three-day prisoner swap was expected to take place later on Sunday. The ongoing POW exchange, the latest of dozens of swaps since the war began and the biggest involving Ukrainian civilians so far, did not bring a halt in the fighting. (AP)
