Ukraine-Russia war latest: New prisoner swap agreed in Istanbul includes return of ‘heroes of Mariupol’ – UK Times

Traffic on the Don River in the Kalachevsky district of Russia’s Volgograd region was temporarily restricted this morning to eliminate wreckage from a “massive” Ukrainian drone attack, the regional governor’s administration said.

“Sappers are at work,” Volgograd governor Andrei Bocharov said. He added that there were no injuries as a result of the attack.

It was not immediately clear whether the bridge on the Don River, Europe’s fifth-longest, was damaged.

The Russian defence ministry said in a post on Telegram that its air defence units destroyed 39 Ukrainian drones overnight over the Russian territory and the Crimean Peninsula, including 13 over the Volgograd region.

European Union leaders called for even greater efforts to help meet Ukraine’s pressing military needs, and expressed support for the country’s quest to join their ranks.

The talks, however, made little headway with new sanctions against Russia, slowing EU’s key agenda for months now.

At a summit in Brussels yesterday, the leaders said it was important to deliver more “air defense and anti-drone systems, and large-caliber ammunition, to help Ukraine, as it exercises its inherent right to self-defence, to protect its citizens and territory against Russia’s intensified daily attacks.”

They also underlined the need to help support Ukraine’s defence industry, which can make weapons and ammunition more quickly and cheaply than its European counterparts.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy took part in the meeting via videolink.

Russia and Ukraine completed another round of prisoner exchanges, officials in both countries said yesterday, part of an agreement struck in Istanbul recently between the two sides.

Both sides exchanged the same number of prisoners, but there was no word on how many soldiers were involved, Russian state RIA news agency said.

Ukraine’s coordination headquarters for the treatment of prisoners of war said majority of the prsioners had been captive and in Russian custody for more than three years.

The swap included injured soldiers and those with health complaints. The youngest is 24 and the oldest is 62, it said, adding that more exchanges are expected soon.

Ukraine has announced it has pushed back Russian forces on the battlefield and said they have prevented an advance into the northern Sumy region, which has been one of the hottest fighting areas along the war frontline.

Ukraine’s top military commander, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that Ukrainian successes in Sumy have prevented Russia from deploying about 50,000 Russian troops, including elite airborne and marine brigades, to other areas of the frontline.

Here’s what we know about the region caught in heavy attacks.

1. Sumy, the city which is the capital of the Ukrainian region of the same name, had a prewar population of around 250,000.
2. It lies about 20km (12 miles) from the frontline. Russia’s push into the region earlier this year compelled Ukraine to strengthen its defences there.
3. Sumy borders Russia’s Kursk region, where a surprise Ukrainian incursion last year captured a pocket of land in the first occupation of Russian territory since the Second World War.
4. The long border is vulnerable to Ukrainian incursions, Russian president Vladimir Putin said, and creating a buffer zone could help Russia prevent further cross-border attacks there.
5. General Syrskyi said a special defence group has been formed to improve security in Sumy and surrounding communities, with a focus on improving fortifications and accelerating construction of defensive barriers.

The White House has recommended terminating US funding for nearly two dozen programs that conduct war crimes and accountability work globally, including in Myanmar, Syria and on alleged Russian atrocities in Ukraine, according to three US sources familiar with the matter and internal government documents reviewed by Reuters.

Several of the programs earmarked for termination operate war crimes accountability projects in Ukraine, three sources familiar with the matter said, including Global Rights Compliance, which is helping to collect evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity across Ukraine, such as sexual violence and torture.

Another is Legal Action Worldwide, a legal aid group which supports local efforts to bring cases against Russian suspects of war crimes in Ukraine, the sources said.

The recommendation from the Office of Management and Budget, which was made on Wednesday and has not been previously reported, is not the final decision to end the programs since it gives the State Department the option to appeal.

The programs also include work in Iraq, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Belarus, Sudan, South Sudan, Afghanistan and the Gambia, according to the sources and a list seen by Reuters.

Traffic on the Don River in the Kalachevsky district of Russia’s Volgograd region was temporarily restricted this morning to eliminate wreckage from a “massive” Ukrainian drone attack, the regional governor’s administration said.

“Sappers are at work,” Volgograd governor Andrei Bocharov said. He added that there were no injuries as a result of the attack.

It was not immediately clear whether the bridge on the Don River, Europe’s fifth-longest, was damaged.

The Russian defence ministry said in a post on Telegram that its air defence units destroyed 39 Ukrainian drones overnight over the Russian territory and the Crimean Peninsula, including 13 over the Volgograd region.

Volgograd airport was closed for more than three hours before flights were restored just before 7am local time (0400 GMT), Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia said on Telegram.

North Korea’s deployment of its troops to Ukrainian territory will represent “significant battlefield inflection”, the Institute for the Study of War.

“The North Korean and Russian military commands authorising the deployment of North Korean forces to Ukrainian territory would mark a significant battlefield inflection that may improve Russian forces’ ability to sustain simultaneous offensive operations in multiple directions, which the Russian military has traditionally struggled to conduct,” the US-based think tank said in its latest assessment.

According to the South Korean intelligence, North Korea may deploy an unspecified number of additional North Korean forces to Russia to fight against Ukraine as early as July or August 2025 and that North Korea continues to arm Russia with artillery ammunition and missiles.

The UK must prepare for the possibility of a “wartime scenario” on home soil, a major new government review has warned.The National Security Strategy, published on Tuesday, has issued the grim warning as events in the Middle East and Russia’s war with Ukraine continue to add to international instability.

The strategy also recommends that UK citizens undergo “national resilience exercises” in preparation for attacks at home.

European Union leaders called for even greater efforts to help meet Ukraine’s pressing military needs, and expressed support for the country’s quest to join their ranks.

The talks, however, made little headway with new sanctions against Russia, slowing EU’s key agenda for months now.

At a summit in Brussels yesterday, the leaders said it was important to deliver more “air defense and anti-drone systems, and large-caliber ammunition, to help Ukraine, as it exercises its inherent right to self-defence, to protect its citizens and territory against Russia’s intensified daily attacks.”

They also underlined the need to help support Ukraine’s defence industry, which can make weapons and ammunition more quickly and cheaply than its European counterparts.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy took part in the meeting via videolink.

The leaders said the bloc “remains steadfast in its support for Ukraine’s path towards EU membership.”

That message comes a day after Nato leaders refrained from putting a reference to Ukraine’s hopes of joining the military organisation in their summit statement, due in large part to US resistance.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed home a new batch of the country’s soldiers taken captive by Russia as the two sides exchanged more prisoners of war yesterday.

“We are continuing the exchanges, another stage has taken place. Today, warriors of the Armed Forces, the National Guard, and the State Border Guard Service are returning home. Most of them had been in captivity since 2022,” he said in a post on X.

“We are doing everything possible to find each person, to verify the information on every name. We must bring all our people home,” he said, just days after he said Russia had sent some of its own dead soldiers to Ukraine in a swap of fallen soldiers.

He also shared an emotional video of the Ukrainian soldiers reuniting with their loved ones upon return to the country at an undisclosed location.

The returned soldiers are seen draped in Ukrainian flags, hugging and crying their loved ones, calling their family members, drinking a beverage and smoking.