Credit: Volodymyr Zelenskyy / X
US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy are speaking this afternoon, hours after Russia released 175 Ukrainian soldiers.
The White House said the American leader was taking the phone call from the Oval Office.
The pair are expected to be discussing details of the ceasefire agreement made by Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday afternoon.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that a prisoner exchange would "be carried out between the Russian and Ukrainian sides - 175 for 175 people".
The Ukrainian president posted information about the swap, which is "one of the largest", on social media.
"Among [those released] are severely wounded warriors and those whom Russia persecuted for fabricated crimes. All of them will immediately receive the necessary medical and psychological assistance," Zelenskyy posted on X.
"I thank our team for their important work in finding Ukrainian prisoners of war and facilitating exchanges, as well as for the results that bring hope. We are also grateful to all our partners, especially the United Arab Emirates, for making today’s exchange possible," he added.
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Trump and Putin had agreed on an immediate pause in strikes against energy and infrastructure targets in Ukraine during the phone call, but Zelenskyy said the vow was “very much at odds with reality” following an overnight barrage of drone strikes across the country.
Ukrainians were released by Russia following the phone call between Putin and Trump. Credit: Volodymyr Zelenskyy / X
Overnight, Russia attacked Ukraine with 145 drones, two ballistic missiles, and four anti-aircraft missiles, Ukraine’s Air Force said on Wednesday morning.
The attacks targeted the Sumy, Odesa, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv and Chernihiv regions, the Air Force said, adding that 72 drones had been shot down.
Civilian infrastructure was struck, including a hospital in the eastern Sumy region and an electricity system powering the railways in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, according to officials and Ukraine’s state railway company Ukrzaliznytsya.
## Russia and Ukraine report attacks within hours of Trump-Putin call## 'Never been closer to peace' in Ukraine, White House says
Meanwhile, Russia’s defense ministry said Wednesday it had shot down 57 drones launched by Ukraine overnight, with 35 of those intercepted and destroyed over the Kursk border region.
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