Ukraine-Russia war live: Kyiv and Moscow exchange dozens more prisoners after huge drone and missile strike

Volodymyr Zelensky has responded to a large scale attack from Russia on Saturday.

Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, he said: “Every night, our forces work to protect lives. Today, there was a large-scale and vile Russian attack.

“Ballistic missiles — some were successfully intercepted. There were also 250 drones, mostly Shaheds. I am grateful to everyone helping Ukraine with air defence.

“Delivering air defence systems to us means real protection for people — here and now. Russia fills each day with horror and murder, it’s simply dragging out the war.

“All of this demands a response — a strong response from the United States, from Europe, and from everyone in the world who wants this war to end.

“Putin has refused to cease fire repeatedly. It gains him nothing, except taking lives every single day. Every day gives new grounds for sanctions against Russia. Every day proves that without pressure on Russia, the war will continue.

“Ukraine is ready for any form of diplomacy that delivers real results. We are ready for all steps that can guarantee true security. It is Russia that is not ready for anything.”

European leaders have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts while he tries to press his larger army’s battlefield initiative and capture more Ukrainian land.

The Istanbul meeting revealed that both sides remained far apart on key conditions for ending the fighting. One such condition for Ukraine, backed by its Western allies, is a temporary ceasefire as a first step toward a peaceful settlement.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said that overnight and early on Saturday, its forces shot down over 100 Ukrainian drones over six provinces in western and southern Russia.

The drone strikes injured three people in the Tula region south of Moscow, local Gov. Dmitriy Milyaev reported, and sparked a fire at an industrial site there.

Andriy Kovalenko, of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, said Saturday that the drones hit a plant in Tula that makes chemicals used in explosives and rocket fuel.

The UK and allies from 10 countries have exposed what they say is a campaign of malicious cyber activity by Russia against logistics and tech firms involved in delivering foreign assistance to Ukraine.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is part of GCHQ, said a unit within the Russian intelligence service, GRU, had targeted defence organisations, as well as IT services, maritime, airports, ports and air traffic management systems firms in a range of Nato countries.

The UK, along with the US, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France and Netherlands have signed and published an advisory on the issue to raise awareness of the campaign.

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Russia needs to strengthen its position in the global arms market by increasing exports of weapons, country’s president Vladimir Putin said.

In televised remarks, he also said the country’s military complex needs more state support to develop its potential.

“The portfolio of orders for Russian military products is now serious. It is tens of billions of dollars. And it is necessary to actively increase the volume of export deliveries,” Mr Putin said.

He also singled out weapons that utilise Artificial Intelligence (AI).

“The future of the global arms market lies with such technology. Strong competition will unfold here, and is already unfolding, for which we must be prepared,” Mr Putin said.

Officials have responded to the latest attack on Ukraine with horror, with Kyiv’s foreign minister calling for further sanctions.

Posting on X, Andrii Sybiha called it “clear evidence that increased sanctions pressure on Moscow is necessary to accelerate the peace process.”

Meanwhile, the EU’s ambassador to Kyiv described it as “horrific.”

“If anyone still doubts Russia wants war to continue — read the news,” Katarina Mathernovï wrote on the social network.

The debris of intercepted missiles and drones fell in at least six Kyiv city districts. According to the acting head of the city’s military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, six people required medical care after the attack and two fires were sparked in Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district.

Germany may consider reintroducing military conscription from as soon as next year if it does not attract enough volunteers for its armed forces, defence minister Boris Pistorius told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung on Saturday.

Part of the NATO alliance, Germany is looking to enhance its military strength following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but looks likely to fail to attract enough recruits. An additional 100,000 soldiers are needed in the coming years to meet NATO obligations, its armed forces have said.

Its Conservatives, which lead a coalition in which Pistorius’ Social Democrats (SPD) are junior partners, have revved up military spending and signalled openness to a compulsory service in the armed forces, which was abandoned in 2011.

“Our model is initially based on voluntary participation,” Pistorius said in an interview with the Sunday newspaper, which is already for sale on Saturdays.

“If the time comes when we have more capacity available than voluntary registrations, then we may decide to make it mandatory,” he added.

UK foreign secretary David Lammy has condemned Russia’s large-scale drone and missile attacks on Kyiv, saying they are “not the actions of a country seeking peace”.

In a statement on X, he said: “Russia targeted Ukraine again last night – with 14 missiles and hundreds of drones across the country.

“Another night of terror for Ukrainian civilians, with yet more injured and more homes destroyed.

“These are not the actions of a country seeking peace.”