UKRAIN – (WARSOOR) – Russia and Ukraine had their first prisoner exchange Tuesday since the Kremlin ordered the invasion of its neighbor six days ago. But it came on a day of further mayhem and destruction as Russian forces stepped up attacks across Ukraine, striking at civilian infrastructure and communications facilities, including Kyiv’s iconic main TV tower and the country’s main Holocaust memorial.
Five people were killed in the strike on the tower, which erupted in a ball of flames, Ukrainian authorities reported. In a tweet, the Defense Ministry has said some Ukrainian channels will not work for a while.
The Tuesday attack also targeted the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial, where in 1941 tens of thousands of Jews were killed over a two-day period during the Holocaust while the city was under Nazi occupation.
Grad rockets rained down on Ukraine’s battered but still defiant capital just after Russians warned residents to leave their homes, saying they would be targeting security and intelligence buildings and civil communications in order to prevent “information attacks” on Russia.
Russia’s Defense Ministry warned anyone near such potential targets to leave.
“We call on… Kyiv residents living near relay nodes to leave their homes,” spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said.
People took the warning seriously, with one family who lives near a major intelligence building in the capital telling VOA by phone they wasted no time in getting to shelter.
“Right now we are sitting in the metro station,” said Dima, an 18-year-old student.
Amid the stepped-up fighting, both sides carried out their first prisoner swap. Dmytro Zhyvytskiy, a Ukrainian military official in the Sumy region, explained in a Telegram announcement.
“The first exchange of prisoners took place in (the) Sumy region. We exchanged our five people from the territorial defense for one Russian military police officer,” Zhyvytskiy said. (AP/VOA)