Ukraine, Russia swap POWs

Ukraine and Russia conducted another POW swap -- the fourth one in a week -- the warring sides said yesterday, under agreements reached in Istanbul earlier this month.

"We continue to take our people out of Russian captivity. This is the fourth exchange in a week," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media.

"In accordance with the Russian-Ukrainian agreements... another group of Russian servicemen was returned from the territory controlled by the Kyiv regime," Russia's defence ministry said.

The exchange came as Russia repeatedly rejected ceasefire calls and intensified its offensive along the front line, and especially in the northeastern Sumy region, where it seeks to establish a "buffer zone" to protect its Kursk region, previously partly occupied by Ukraine.

Zelensky claimed Russia's advance on Sumy was stopped, adding that Kyiv's forces have managed to retake one village. According to Ukraine, Russia was using 53,000 men in the Sumy operation.