Ukrainian foreign minister describes air attacks on third day of prisoner swap as biggest in weeks.
Russia has targeted Ukraine for a second consecutive night with drones and missiles, killing at least 12 people as the two countries pursue a major prisoner swap.
Ukraine’s air force said on Sunday that Russian forces attacked Ukrainian regions with 298 drones and 69 missiles overnight, one of the largest aerial attacks of the war.
“Most regions of Ukraine were affected by the hostile attack. Enemy air strikes were recorded in 22 areas, and downed cruise missiles and attack UAVs (drones) fell in 15 locations,” the air force said on Telegram.
Ukraine’s security service reported that at least four people were killed and 16 were injured in the capital, Kyiv.
The country’s emergency service reported that three children – aged eight, 12 and 17 – were killed in the region of Zhytomyr, while another person was killed in the southern city of Mykolaiv.
Four others were killed in attacks across the Khmelnytskyi region, Sergiy Tyurin, the deputy head of the regional military administration, said in a post on Telegram, adding that civilian infrastructure had been destroyed.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said it had been a “difficult Sunday morning in Ukraine after a sleepless night” following “the most massive Russian air attack in many weeks”.
A difficult Sunday morning in Ukraine after a sleepless night. The most massive Russian air attack in many weeks lasted all night.
Russia launched hundreds of drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles into Ukrainian cities and communities during the night, injuring and… pic.twitter.com/FcawH6DJD4
— Andrii Sybiha 🇺🇦 (@andrii_sybiha) May 25, 2025
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported on Telegram that “more than a dozen enemy drones” were in the airspace around the capital.
He reported damage to a student dormitory in Holosiivskyi district, a house in Dniprovskyi district and a residential building in Shevchenkivskyi district.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its forces shot down 110 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 12 drones flying towards the Russian capital had been intercepted.
Restrictions were imposed on at least four airports, including the main hub Sheremetyevo, the Russian civilian aviation authority, Rosaviatsiya, said.
Major prisoner swap
The two sides traded fire as they engaged in their biggest prisoner swap since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Kyiv and Moscow agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war and civilian detainees each in talks held in Istanbul, Turkiye, earlier this month – the first time the two sides had met face to face for peace talks.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia’s Defence Ministry said each side brought home 307 more soldiers on Saturday, a day after each released a total of 390 servicemen and civilians.
Zelenskyy said on his official Telegram channel that further releases are expected on Sunday.
The Russian Defence Ministry also said it expected the exchange to continue.
The renewed attacks followed a massive wave of attacks the previous day, with Ukraine reporting on Saturday that Russia had hit it with 250 drones and 14 ballistic missiles, while Russia said it was attacked by at least 100 Ukrainian drones.