By ILLIA NOVIKOV, Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched almost 500 drones at Ukraine in the biggest overnight drone bombardment of the three-year war, the Ukrainian air force said Monday, as the Kremlin presses its summer offensive amid direct peace talks that have yet to deliver progress on stopping the fighting.

Despite the difficulties in reaching a ceasefire, Russia and Ukraine swapped another batch of prisoners of war Monday.

In addition to the 479 drones, 20 missiles of various types were fired at different parts of Ukraine from Sunday to Monday, according to the air force, which said the barrage targeted mainly central and western areas.

Ukraine’s air force said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed 277 drones and 19 missiles, claiming only 10 drones or missiles hit their targets. Officials said one person was injured. It was not possible to independently verify the claims.

In this photo, taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Monday, June 9, 2025, Russian soldiers ride an Akatsyia self-propelled gun on an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

Colleagues and relatives say the last goodbye to firefighters Pavlo Yezhor, Danylo Skadin, and Andriy Remenny, killed by Russia’s missile attack last week, at the farewell ceremony in front of the fire station in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) Show Caption 1 of 2 In this photo, taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Monday, June 9, 2025, Russian soldiers ride an Akatsyia self-propelled gun on an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP) Expand

A recent escalation in aerial attacks has coincided with a renewed Russian battlefield push along eastern and northeastern parts of the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Sunday that in some of those areas, “the situation is very difficult.” He provided no details.

Ukraine is short-handed on the front line against its bigger enemy and needs more military support from its Western partners, especially air defenses. But uncertainty about the U.S. policy on the war has fueled doubts about how much help Kyiv can count on.

Ukraine has produced some stunning counter-punches, however. Its June 1 drone attack on distant Russian air bases was unprecedented in its scope and sophistication.

Russia intensifies its attacks

The Ukrainian General Staff said special operations forces struck two Russian fighter jets stationed at the Savasleyka airfield in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region located about 650 kilometers (about 400 miles) northeast of the Ukrainian border. The statement did not say how the planes were hit and there was no immediate comment on the claim from Russian authorities. Some Russian war bloggers said there was no damage to the warplanes.

Russian officials have said the recent intensified assaults are part of a series of retaliatory strikes for Ukraine’s drone attack on air bases that were hosting nuclear-capable strategic bombers. A strike on a Ukrainian air base in Dubno, in the western Rivne region, was one such response, the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday.

Two recent rounds of direct peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul have yielded no significant breakthroughs beyond pledges to swap prisoners as well as thousands of their dead and seriously wounded troops. Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated he will keep fighting until his conditions are met.

Russia and Ukraine exchange more POWs

The exchange of hundreds of soldiers and civilians has been a small sign of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to agree on a ceasefire.

More prisoners were swapped Monday in a staggered process taking place over the coming days, Zelenskyy and the Russian Defense Ministry said, although neither side said how many. Those who were swapped included wounded soldiers, as well as those under 25, Zelenskyy said. “The process is quite complicated, there are many sensitive details, negotiations continue virtually every day,” he added.

In the Chernihiv region of northern Ukraine, dozens of anxious relatives gathered outside a hospital and formed a human corridor to see whether their loved ones were among those freed.

Many held up photos of sons, husbands and brothers in hopes that someone might recognize them and offer any news. One by one, the returning soldiers passed silently through the corridor, their expressions a mixture of joy and exhaustion.

Many in the crowd hadn’t received official word on their loved ones for months, and some of them for years.

Tetiana Lytvyn, 38, of Chernihiv, was among those waiting. She wasn’t looking for one person, but two — her father and a cousin, both of whom went missing last year.

“The war might end,” she added, “but for those of us with family still missing — the war will never be over until they come home.”

Lytvyn’s cousin, 21-year-old Mykola Dmytruk, disappeared while his wife was pregnant. “He has a daughter now,” she said. “She’s 5 months old.”

The Ukrainian POWs were in poor health, said Petro Yatsenko, spokesperson for Ukraine’s official body overseeing prisoners. They lacked food during their imprisonment and had no access to medical care, he said.

More than 200 Ukrainian POWs have died in prison since Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor, an Associated Press report published last month found.

Russia and Ukraine have disagreed over the transfer of the bodies of soldiers killed in action. The Russian Defense Ministry alleged Ukraine failed to pick up the bodies of its fallen soldiers that Russia made available for collection over the weekend.

But Zelenskyy claimed that Moscow hadn’t sent to Kyiv the names of more than 1,000 Ukrainians whose bodies are in Russian-controlled territories as had been agreed. He accused Russian authorities of playing “dirty” games.

Even so, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the swap is expected to go ahead, although he said there were no specific arrangements so far for the transfer.

Ukraine’s intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said the exchange of bodies will begin this week.

Long-range drone attacks continue

Russia has repeatedly targeted civilian areas of Ukraine with Shahed drones during the war, as happened on Sunday night. The attacks have killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations. Russia says it only attacks military targets.

Ukraine has developed long-range drones that continue to strike deep inside Russia.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down 49 Ukrainian drones overnight over seven Russian regions.

Two drones hit a plant specializing in electronic warfare equipment in the Chuvashia region, located more than 600 kilometers (370 miles) east of Moscow, local officials reported.

Arhirova contributed from the Chernihiv region.

By MARI YAMAGUCHI

TOKYO (AP) — An explosion at a storage site for unexploded ordnance at a U.S. military base on Japan’s southern island of Okinawa injured four Japanese soldiers, though the injuries are not life-threatening, officials said Monday.

The four soldiers sustained finger injuries while working at a facility that belongs to Okinawa prefecture and temporarily stores unexploded ordnance, mostly from wartime and found on the island, local officials said. One of the harshest battles of World War II was fought on Okinawa.

Prefectural officials said the injuries were not life-threatening, but no other details were immediately known.

The U.S. Air Force said in a statement that the explosion occurred at the facility managed by the Okinawa prefectural government at Kadena Air Base’s munitions storage area. It said no U.S. servicemembers were involved in the incident.

U.S. military persons gather near the site of an explosion at a storage site for unexploded ordnances at a U.S. military base in the town of Yomitanson, Okinawa prefecture, southern Japan Monday, June 9, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP)

U.S. military persons gather near the site of an explosion at a storage site for unexploded ordnances at a U.S. military base in the town of Yomitanson, Okinawa prefecture, southern Japan Monday, June 9, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP)

A Japan Self-Defence Forces vehicle enters an area of ammunition store in the town of Yomitanson, Okinawa prefecture, southern Japan Monday, June 9, 2025. A yellow sign reads “Bomb Disposal.” (Kyodo News via AP) Show Caption 1 of 3 U.S. military persons gather near the site of an explosion at a storage site for unexploded ordnances at a U.S. military base in the town of Yomitanson, Okinawa prefecture, southern Japan Monday, June 9, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP) Expand

The Self Defense Force’s joint staff said one of the devices suddenly exploded when the soldiers were inspecting it at the facility. The blast occurred when the soldiers were trying to remove rust, NHK television reported.

The SDF said they are trying to confirm what caused the accident.

Monday’s accident was believed to be the first ever since the 1974 launch of the Japanese army’s unexploded ordnance disposal unit.

Hundreds of tons of unexploded wartime bombs, many of them dropped by the U.S. military, remain buried around Japan and are sometimes dug up at construction sites and elsewhere. Many of them are still found on Okinawa, where about 1,856 tons of unexploded U.S. bombs are believed to remain.

In October, an unexploded wartime U.S. bomb exploded at a commercial airport in southern Japan, causing a large crater and suspending dozens of flights.

By HANNA ARHIROVA and VASILISA STEPANENKO

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia struck Ukraine with a thunderous aerial bombardment overnight, further dampening hopes that the warring sides could reach a peace deal anytime soon days after Kyiv embarrassed the Kremlin with a surprising drone attack on military airfields deep inside Russia.

The barrage was one of the fiercest of the three-year war, lasting several hours, striking six Ukrainian territories, and killing at least four people and injuring about 50 others, Ukrainian officials said Friday. Among the dead were three emergency responders in Kyiv and someone who was pulled from the rubble of an apartment building in a northwestern city.

The attack came after U.S. President Donald Trump said his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, told him Moscow would respond to Ukraine’s attack Sunday on Russian military airfields. It was also hours after Trump said it might be better to let Ukraine and Russia “fight for a while” before pulling them apart and pursuing peace. Trump’s comments were a remarkable detour from his often-stated appeals to stop the war and signaled he may be giving up on recent peace efforts.

Ukrainian cities have come under regular bombardment since Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022. The attacks have killed more than 12,000 civilians, according to the United Nations.

“Russia doesn`t change its stripes,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

A man carries his dog in front of a residential multi-storey building damaged after a Russian drone strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

People rest in a metro station, being used as a bomb shelter, during a Russian drones attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, early Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)

A man looks from a window of a residential multi-storey building damaged after a Russian drone strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

People rest in a metro station, being used as a bomb shelter, during a Russian drones attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, early Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to journalists during a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka) Show Caption 1 of 5 A man carries his dog in front of a residential multi-storey building damaged after a Russian drone strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka) Expand

The war has continued unabated even as a U.S.-led diplomatic push for a settlement has brought two rounds of direct peace talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine. The negotiations delivered no significant breakthroughs, however, and the sides remain far apart on their terms for an end to the fighting.

Ukraine has offered an unconditional 30-day ceasefire and a meeting between Zelenskyy and Russian leader Vladimir Putin to break the deadlock. But the Kremlin has effectively rejected a truce and hasn’t budged from its demands.

“The Kremlin continues efforts to falsely portray Russia as willing to engage in good-faith negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, despite Russia’s repeated refusal to offer any concessions,” the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said late Thursday.

Further peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian are expected in coming weeks, as is another exchange of prisoners of war.

Homes are struck

The attack involved 407 Russian drones and 44 ballistic and cruise missiles, Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said. Ukrainian forces said they shot down about 30 of the cruise missiles and up to 200 of the drones.

The Kyiv emergency workers were killed while responding to the strikes. “They were working under fire to help people,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it aimed at Ukrainian military targets with “long-range precision weapons” and successfully struck arms depots, drone factories and repair facilities, among other targets.

But fitting a pattern for Russian attacks throughout the war, Friday’s bombardment also struck apartment buildings and other non-military targets, Associated Press reporters observed.

In Kyiv, explosions were heard for hours as falling drone debris sparked fires across several districts, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Administration. He urged people to seek shelter.

Vitalina Vasylchenko, a 14-year-old Kyiv resident, sheltered in a parking garage with her 6-year-old sister and their mother after an explosion blew one of their windows off its hinges.

“I heard a buzzing sound, then my dad ran to me and covered me with his hand,” she said. “Then there was a very loud explosion. My whole life flashed before my eyes — I already thought that was it. I started having a panic attack. … I’m shocked that I’m alive.”

In Kyiv’s Solomyanskyi district, a fire broke out on the 11th floor of a 16-story apartment building. Emergency services evacuated three people from the burning unit. The attack caused a blackout in some areas, and more than 2,000 households on Kyiv’s eastern bank were without power, city officials said.

Elsewhere, 10 people were injured by an aerial attack on the western city of Ternopil, regional governor Viacheslav Nehoda said. The strike damaged industrial and infrastructure facilities, left parts of the city without electricity, and disrupted water supplies.

Russia also targeted the western Lviv and Khmelnytskyi regions, the northern Chernihiv region, and the central Poltava region, where at least three people were injured.

Russia also reports drone attacks

In Russia, air defenses shot down 10 Ukrainian drones heading toward the capital early Friday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. As a precaution, flights at Moscow airports were temporarily suspended overnight Thursday into Friday and then again late Friday afternoon.

Ukrainian drones also targeted three other regions of Russia, authorities said, damaging apartment buildings and industrial plants. Three people were injured, officials said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 174 Ukrainian drones over 13 regions early Friday. It added that three Ukrainian Neptune missiles were also shot down over the Black Sea.

Ukraine struck airfields and other military targets in Russia, such as fuel storage tanks and transport hubs, the Ukrainian General Staff said.

Also, a locomotive derailed early Friday in the Belgorod region after the track was blown up, Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said. Russia has recently accused Ukraine of sabotaging the rail network.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

BEIRUT (AP) — The Israeli military struck several sites in Beirut’s southern suburbs that it said held underground facilities used by Hezbollah for drone production Thursday, on the eve of the Eid al-Adha holiday.

The strikes marked the first time in more than a month that Israel had struck on the outskirts of the capital and the fourth time since a US-brokered ceasefire agreement ended the latest war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in November.

Israel posted a warning ahead of the strikes on X, formerly known as Twitter, announcing that it would hit eight buildings at four locations.

Israel has continued to carry out near-daily strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon since the ceasefire, which Lebanon has said are in violation of the agreement. Israeli officials say the strikes are intended to prevent Hezbollah from regrouping after a war that took out much of its senior leadership and arsenal.

The Israeli army said in a statement that Hezbollah was “working to produce thousands of drones under the guidance and financing of Iranian terrorist groups.”

Hezbollah “used drones extensively in its attacks against the State of Israel and is working to expand its drone industry and production in preparation for the next war,” the army statement said.

There was no immediate statement from Hezbollah.

A Hezbollah official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly denied that there were drone production facilities at the targeted locations.

“In the (ceasefire) agreement, there is a mechanism for investigating if there is a complaint,” the official said. “Israel in general, and Netanyahu in particular, wants to continue the war in the region.”

The conflict killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians, while the Lebanese government said in April that Israeli strikes had killed another 190 people and wounded 485 wounded since the ceasefire.

There has been increasing pressure on Hezbollah – both domestic and international – to give up its remaining arsenal, but officials with the group have said they will not do so until Israel stops its airstrikes and withdraws from five points it is still occupying along the border in southern Lebanon.