Russia launches huge drone attack on Ukraine even as prisoner swap runs smoothly

Ukraine’s capital came under a large-scale Russian drone and missile attack early Saturday with explosions and machine gun fire heard throughout the city.

Ukraine's capital came under a large-scale Russian drone and missile attack overnight and into early Saturday that left at least 15 people injured, according to Ukrainian officials. Explosions and machine gun fire were heard throughout Kyiv as many sought shelter in subway stations.

The attack came hours after Russia and Ukraine began a major prisoner exchange of hundreds of soldiers and civilians, the first phase of a swap agreed on by the two sides at a meeting in Istanbul last week.

The agreement was a rare moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire in the 3-year-old war.

Russia attacked Ukraine with 14 ballistic missiles and 250 Shahed drones overnight, officials said, adding that Ukrainian forces shot down 6 missiles and neutralized 245 drones — 128 drones were shot down and 117 were thwarted using electronic warfare.

An emergency worker in Kyiv assists his colleagues at the site of a Russian attack on a residential building Saturday.Alex Babenko / APThe Kyiv City Military Administration said it was one of the most massive combined missile and drone attacks on the capital.