Ukraine, Russia exchange accusations over POW swap delay – DW – 06/07/2025

Ukraine is not delaying the exchange of soldiers’ bodies, official Ukrainian sources said on Saturday, denying earlier claims by Russia.

Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said in a statement that there was no fixed date for the return of bodies and that Russia was not sticking to the agreed parameters of the POW swap, accusing Moscow of “dirty games” and “manipulations.”

Ukrainian security official Andriy Kovalenko also urged Moscow to stop “playing dirty games” and return to constructive work.

“Today’s statements by the Russian side do not correspond to reality or to previous agreements on either the exchange of prisoners or the repatriation of bodies,” Kovalenko, an official at Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, said on the Telegram app.

Germany’s leaders are creating conditions that could lead to increased tensions and even clashes, the chairman of the Russian parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, said on Saturday.

Citing last month’s announcement by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that Germany was planning the joint production of long-range weapons in Ukraine, Volodin stated that Germany was increasingly being drawn into military action against Russia.

“You yourself understand where this can lead,” he said in reference to World War II.

He said Russia did not want a confrontation with Germany, but “if it comes to that, then we are ready for it.” 

Volodin was mostly upset that Merz praised the United States for freeing Germany from the Nazis at his meeting with US President Donald Trump.

Volodin accused Merz of not remembering the Soviet Union’s significant contribution to the victory over Nazi Germany.

He said the German lower house of parliament, the Bundestag and the countries political parties needed to give Merz a history lesson. 

“It was the Soviet Union that defeated fascism and saved the planet from the brown plague,” Volodin said. 

Russia accused Ukraine of postponing a large-scale prisoner swap on Saturday.

“The Ukrainian side has unexpectedly postponed for an indefinite period, both the acceptance of the bodies and the exchange of prisoners of war,” Russia’s top negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said on social media.

Ukrainian and Russian negotiators agreed to exchange prisoners, focusing on swapping severely wounded individuals and repatriation of bodies.

They met on Monday in the Turkish city of Istanbul for their second round of direct peace talks since 2022, but the two sides are still far apart on how to end the war.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

Previous prisoner-of-war exchanges between the two sides have generally proceeded smoothly.

Ukraine’s air force said it shot down a Russian Su-35 war plane on Saturday.

“This morning, on June 7, 2025, as a result of a successful Air Force operation in the Kursk direction, a Russian Su-35 fighter jet was shot down,” the military said on the Telegram messenger app.

No additional details were provided about the operation, and Russian authorities have not yet commented on the claim.

The Sukhoi Su-35 is considered one of the most advanced aircraft in Russia’s arsenal.

Tens of thousands of war-critical Russians have fled their home country to escape repression and criminal prosecution and found a new home in Germany. 

Some of them now want to make a difference in German politics.

Read more about the Russian migrants and the parties they have joined in Germany by clicking here.

Besides the large Russian aerial assault on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, there were also strikes on Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, and the city of Ternopil, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post on social media.

“To put an end to Russia’s killing and destruction, more pressure on Moscow is required, as are more steps to strengthen Ukraine,” he said.

Russia, meanwhile, said it downed 36 Ukrainian drones on Saturday.

At least two people were injured in the Moscow region as a result of the Ukrainian drone attack, Governor Andrei Vorobyov said.

Russia’s aviation watchdog said the Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, and Zhukovsky airports in the Moscow region had temporarily suspended operations to ensure flight safety but that flights had resumed.

The Ukrainian military said Russia launched 206 drones, 2 ballistic and seven other missiles against Ukraine overnight.

It said its air defense units shot down 87 drones while electronic measures jammed another 80 drones.

The intensity of the Russian attacks on Ukraine over the past week has further dampened hopes that the warring sides could reach a ceasefire agreement. 

Ukraine has offered a 30-day unconditional ceasefire as an attempt to end the war but Russia has continuously rejected such overtures. 

On Friday Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday called for allies to increase pressure on Russia to end its war of aggression.

Earlier in the week US President Donald Trump said his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, told him Moscow would respond to Ukraine’s attack last weekend on Russian military airfields.

At least three people were killed and more than 20 injured in a large Russian drone-and-missile attack on Ukraine’s eastern city of Kharkiv.

“Kharkiv is currently experiencing the most powerful attack since the start of the full-scale war,” Kharkiv’s mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said on the Telegram messenger app early on Saturday.

He said the attack damaged apartment buildings and homes. 

It comes a day after Russian strikes hit six Ukrainian territories, killing at least six people and injuring about 80 others.

Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city and just a few dozen kilometers from the Russian border, has endured relentless shelling throughout more than three years of war.

But last night’s assault, described by the city’s mayor as the “most powerful attack” since the full-scale invasion began, marks a grim new chapter.

In this blog, we’ll bring you the latest updates on the strike and its aftermath—likely part of Russia’s response to Ukraine’s daring attack on a Russian bomber fleet last week.

We’re also monitoring reports of a possible prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia expected later today. If that happens, we will bring you the details here. 

Stay with DW for real-time news, analysis, and insights from our correspondents on the ground as we continue to cover Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.