Russia launched its largest aerial assault of its three-year war on Ukraine overnight, targeting the capital and other regions with missiles and drones for a second night in a row, even as the two sides prepared to conclude a major prisoner exchange.

The massive missile and drone attack, one of the largest aerial bombardments of the war, casts more doubt on the U.S.-brokered peace process.

Ukraine brought home 303 prisoners of war on May 25 in the final phase of a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced.

Ukraine rallied support from its Western allies on Friday after Kyiv and Moscow failed to agree to a ceasefire at their first direct talks in more than three years, with Russia presenting conditions that a Ukrainian source described as "non-starters".

An agreement by Ukraine and Russia for a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange is thought to be the only concrete result of peace talks in Istanbul which took place last week, which were the first such negotiations since 2022 when the ongoing war began. Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Turkey’s foreign minister is set to travel to Russia on Monday to discuss the situation in Ukraine, following direct talks earlier this month in Istanbul between the two sides in conflict.

Ukraine has not commented on the attack ... Prisoner Swap: Direct peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators took place in Istanbul for the first time since the start of the war and resulted in an agreement to conduct what would be the largest ...