Kyiv on alert for combined drone and missile strike: mayor

This handout photograph taken and released by Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War on May 23, 2025 shows Ukrainian POWs posing after their exchange, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Ukraine and Russia began a major prisoner exchange on Friday May 23, 2025, which if completed would be the biggest swap since Moscow invaded more than three years ago. Both sides received 390 people in the first stage on May 23, and are expected to exchange 1,000 each in total under an agreement reached at direct talks in Istanbul the previous week. The process is set to last three days, Kyiv said. — Photo via Agence France-Presse

Kyiv was on alert early Saturday for a Russian drone and missile attack, the Ukrainian capital’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said, after AFP journalists heard explosions.

“Explosions in the capital. Air defenses have been activated. The city and the region are under a combined enemy attack,” he wrote on Telegram.

At least eight people were wounded in the “massive” attack, Klitschko said, adding that two victims had been hospitalized and the others were being treated at the scene.

The Ukrainian Air Force warned ballistic missiles were heading towards the capital.

The head of the capital’s civil and military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, reported two fires in the Sviatochynskyi district, missile debris falling in the Obolonskyi district, and drone debris falling on a residential building in the Solomianskyi district.

Russian missiles killed two people and wounded several others in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa on Friday, according to authorities.

READ: Ukraine, Russia begin biggest prisoner swap of war

The Russian military said Ukraine had targeted it with 788 drones and missiles since Tuesday, 776 of which had been shot down.

The attacks came after Ukraine and Russia began a major prisoner exchange Friday, which if completed would be the biggest swap since Moscow invaded its neighbor more than three years ago.

Both sides received 390 people in the first stage and are expected to exchange 1,000 each in total under an agreement reached at direct talks in Istanbul last week.

Russia has signaled it will send Ukraine its terms for a peace settlement after the swap, which is set to be staggered over three days. /das