• Russia launched a massive drone and missile attack on Kyiv, injuring at least 15.
• Both sides are in the middle of the largest prisoner exchange since the war began.
• Ukrainian President Zelenskyy calls for new sanctions on Russia amid the violence.

In a significant escalation, Ukraine's capital Kyiv faced a massive drone and missile attack from Russia, which left at least 15 people injured and damaged numerous buildings across the city. The attack occurred during the largest prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia since the onset of the conflict, with Ukrainian officials reporting that Russia launched 14 ballistic missiles and 250 drones targeting the city, damaging civilian infrastructure and causing chaos in the streets, according to TRT Global and Al Jazeera.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the overnight strikes, which he remarked confirm that "the cause of prolonging the war lies in Moscow." He has reiterated calls for stronger international sanctions aimed at crippling key sectors of the Russian economy to compel Moscow toward a ceasefire. Over the last week, Russian strikes have also resulted in fatalities in regions like Kharkiv and Donetsk, suggesting that the ongoing violence is targeting civilian areas, as detailed by India Times, ABC News, and Newsweek.

The prisoner exchange, which involved the transfer of 390 personnel from each side on the first day alone, marked a crucial moment amidst ongoing hostilities. Both countries are planning to connect future exchanges under a proposal initially discussed in Istanbul. Zelenskyy highlighted the scale of this exchange, referring to it as the "1,000-for-1,000" agreement, reinforcing the limited areas where the two parties have found common ground, according to Le Monde and Channel News Asia.

Despite the prisoner swap, military operations continued unabated, with reports indicating an ongoing exchange of drone attacks between Ukraine and Russia. The Ukrainian military confirmed that it had successfully intercepted a large number of invading missiles and drones, although civilian areas in Kyiv shoulder the brunt of this conflict. The relentless attacks underscore the fragility of any proposed diplomatic resolution, as both sides seem entrenched in their positions, as noted by multiple reports from The New York Times and ABC News.