Russia and Ukraine exchanged 205 prisoners of war on Friday, hours after rescue workers ended their search of a destroyed block of flats in Kyiv in which 24 people were killed, including three girls. Most of the Ukrainian prisoners had been held since 2022, said President Zelensky. The swap was part of a short-lived ceasefire ending this week with the launch of massive Russian strikes across Ukraine, including a missile attack that reduced 18 flats to rubble. Among the victims was 12-year-old Lyubava Yakovleva, whose father was killed during the war. Meanwhile, Russian officials said four people, including a child, were killed when Ukrainian drones hit the city of Ryazan, south-east of Moscow.

What are Russia's gains from the Iran war? 'We are not losers; we are winners' Russian drone strikes collapsed a residential building in the Ukrainian capital. Ukrainian officials say Russia launched more than 1,500 drones since Wednesday, despite a US-mediated ceasefire proposal. Trump, Xi speak ahead of talks to make relations'better than ever'

One person has been killed and dozens wounded after Russia launched a massive wave of strikes against Ukraine overnight, officials have said. Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said it was an especially difficult night for Kyiv, where rescuers are searching through the rubble of a residential building after a combined missile and drone attack on the Ukrainian capital. The overnight barrage followed a major attack on Wednesday - one of the largest Russia has mounted since the start of its full-scale invasion in 2022, with 892 drones launched in 24 hours. It marks the third day in a row Ukraine has reported deaths, as Moscow ramps up its assault after a three-day ceasefire expired on Monday. In the capital, a search and rescue operation began early Thursday to look for people under the rubble of a nine-storey apartment block which had been hit overnight.

What are Russia's gains from the Iran war? 'We are not losers; we are winners' 'One of the longest' Russian attacks kills at least six people in Ukraine At least six people have been killed and dozens injured in "one of the longest, massive Russian attacks against Ukraine", according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, despite renewed claims from the Russian and United States presidents that the war may be nearing an end. Zelenskyy said the barrage began on Wednesday morning and lasted for hours, striking Kyiv, the western city of Lviv near the Polish border and the Black Sea port of Odesa, among other areas. In the southern region of Kherson, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said a woman was killed when a Russian drone struck a bus in the town of Bilozerka. Another drone attack in the western region of Rivne killed three people and injured four, according to Governor Oleksandr Koval. In the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine, authorities said a 60-year-old man was killed when Russian forces attacked a community near the city of Zolochiv with first-person view drones.

What are Russia's gains from the Iran war? 'We are not losers; we are winners' At least three people have been killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine in the past 24 hours despite a three-day ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump that came into effect on May 9. Regional authorities on Sunday reported one death each in Ukraine's Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kherson regions. Governor Oleksandr Prokudin confirmed the death on Telegram, saying the woman had been struck while walking down the street. Seven people, including a child, have also been injured across the region in drone or artillery attacks since early Saturday, he added. Ivan Fedorov, the governor of the southeastern Zaporizhia region, said one person had been killed and three others injured by artillery and drone attacks in the past 24 hours. In the northeastern Kharkiv region, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said eight people, including two children, were injured in drone attacks on the city of Kharkiv and nearby settlements.

What are Russia's gains from the Iran war? 'We are not losers; we are winners' Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it has warned diplomatic missions to promptly evacuate their staff from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, in case Moscow launches a mass strike on the city in response to potential Ukrainian attempts to disrupt Russia's May 9 Victory Day commemorations. In a video posted on Telegram on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova urged diplomats to heed the Defence Ministry's warning of a strike, issued on Monday, in the event of a Ukrainian attack during the commemorations of the Soviet Union's victory against Nazi Germany in World War II and a military parade in Red Square. Zakharova said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had made "aggressive and threatening statements" about disrupting the commemorations at a meeting of the European Political Community in Armenia on Monday. "Several EU countries were present," she said. In his remarks in Armenia, Zelenskyy noted a Russian announcement that the commemorations were being scaled down and taking place without military hardware for security reasons.

What are Russia's gains from the Iran war? 'We are not losers; we are winners' Russian air attacks kill five at Ukraine's Naftogaz gas facilities At least five people have been killed in Russian air strikes on Ukrainian state-run gas facilities in the Poltava and Kharkiv regions, officials said, a day after Kyiv and Moscow announced unilateral ceasefires to take effect later this week. Three employees and two rescue workers were killed and 37 people were wounded in the overnight missile and drone barrage, Serhiy Koretskyi, the CEO of Ukraine's state energy company Naftogaz said on Tuesday. This was a combined strike involving UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and ballistic missiles," said Koretskyi. He added that the attack cut gas supply to nearly 3,500 customers. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian authorities had shown "utter cynicism" by announcing a ceasefire and then launching missile and drone attacks on his country. "Russia could cease fire at any moment, and this would stop the war and our responses.

The Iran war has strengthened Ukraine in surprising ways. Could a ceasefire with Russia be closer? When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, serious-faced and clad in black, strolled down a lilac carpet in Saudi Arabia in March, it marked a moment in the US-Israeli war in Iran. In a post on X, he said his visit was to strengthen the protection of lives. Zelensky, who carries the weight of Ukraine's own war with Russia on his shoulders, has been seizing the moment, flying to the Gulf to publicly showcase the international value and marketability of Kyiv's learned-on-the-battlefield military nous in drone warfare. Ukraine says it has now signed deals with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar - all hit by Iranian missiles and drones in recent weeks - to share drone expertise and technology, tightening alliances and benefitting from business - and it hopes defence deals - with wealthy US-allied countries.

What are Russia's gains from the Iran war? 'We are not losers; we are winners' Ukrainian officials say Russian drones have again attacked the southern port city of Odesa, injuring at least 11 people, including two children, and damaging homes and important infrastructure. Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper said the attack affected three districts, hitting residential buildings, vehicles and civilian facilities, including a hotel, warehouses and funicular railway. Windows shattered in many buildings and the port area sustained damage. Law enforcement agencies are documenting the latest war crimes committed by Russia against the peaceful population of [the] Odesa region," Kiper said. Russian attacks killed one person in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, according to Governor Ivan Fedorov. "A 59-year-old man died as a result of an enemy attack on the Zaporizhzhia region," Fedorov wrote on Telegram. A Ukrainian drone attack killed an employee at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which was captured by Russian forces and is shut down. "A driver was killed today when a Ukrainian Armed Forces drone struck the transport department at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant," said a statement from plant managers who were installed by Russia. Regional governor Fedorov said Russian forces launched 629 strikes across 45 settlements in the region in a single day, with at least 50 reports of damage to homes and infrastructure. Russian officials reported Ukrainian drone attacks in the Belgorod border region, where at least one person was killed and four women injured, alongside damage to buildings and vehicles. The attacks come as diplomatic efforts to end the war remain stalled. Donald Trump said on Sunday that he has had "good conversations" with Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "We're working on the Russia situation, Russia and Ukraine, and hopefully we're going to get it," Trump said on Fox News. "I do have conversations with him, and I do have conversations with President Zelenskyy, and good conversations," he said. "The hatred between President Putin and President Zelenskyy is ridiculous.

A worker checks the radiation level inside the control room of reactor No 4, where the Chornobyl disaster happened in 1986. A worker checks the radiation level inside the control room of reactor No 4, where the Chornobyl disaster happened in 1986. In February 2025, a cheap Russian drone tore through Chornobyl's confinement shelter. Workers warn the site of the world's worst nuclear accident is not safe yet The dosimeter clipped to your chest ticks faster the moment you step off the designated path inside the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. Step back, and it slows again - an invisible line between clean ground and contamination.