Russia Launches 294 Drones at Ukraine as Bodies of 528 Soldiers Returned

Russian forces launched 294 drones at Ukraine overnight, Ukraine's Air Force said. The military reported that 269 of the drones were shot down while 20 struck 15 locations. At least one person was killed and dozens were injured in the attacks. In the Kherson region, five high-rise residential buildings and 19 houses were damaged, killing one person and injuring 23 others, according to regional officials.

In Kharkiv, the attacks damaged a road, two metro stations, the electric transport contact network, a trolleybus and a public transport stop. Seven people were injured in Sumy after strikes hit an office building, an ambulance, minibuses and cars. A Ukrainian drone attack killed one civilian in Russia's Belgorod region, local authorities there reported.

The strikes occurred a day after Russia and Ukraine exchanged 205 prisoners of war each. The exchange marked the first phase of a larger swap announced by President Donald Trump the previous week, which called for a three-day ceasefire from 9-11 May and an exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the exchange as the initial step of that agreement. Russia also returned the bodies of 528 Ukrainian soldiers. Ukraine's prisoners of war centre stated on social media that "the bodies of 528 deceased individuals have been returned to Ukraine" and that according to the Russian side they may be Ukrainian servicemen.

" Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago, exchanges of prisoners and the remains of fallen fighters have been one of the few areas of cooperation between Moscow and Kyiv.