Latest prisoner exchange includes Mariupol defenders; European Commission unveils 18th round of sanctions. What we know on day 1,204

At least two people were killed and 28 injured in an overnight Russian drone attack on Kharkiv , Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday morning. “Seventeen strikes by enemy UAVs were carried out in two districts of the city this night,” said the Kharkiv mayor, Igor Terekhov. More than 15 apartments were on fire in a five-storey building and several houses were hit. Terekhov added “there may be people trapped under the rubble”.

Separately the death toll rose to at least three with 13 wounded after Russia attacked Kyiv and Odesa with waves of drones and missiles early on Tuesday. The civilian targets hit included a maternity ward and a cathedral. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, voiced his frustration with Donald Trump by calling for “concrete actions” rather than “silence” after seven of the Ukrainian capital’s 10 districts were hit, writes Daniel Boffey from Kyiv.

Another exchange of prisoners of war took place on Tuesday, after a swap on Monday, pursuant to the only tangible deal struck at the most recent Ukraine-Russia talks in Turkey. Among them were soldiers captured in the battle for Mariupol over three years ago, said Ukrainian authorities. All of those freed had severe injuries and illnesses, including amputated limbs and vision problems. Russia’s defence ministry said it also received a group of soldiers.

Amina Ivanchenko was reunited on Monday with her husband, a PoW for 18 months , in the initial release. She said was grateful to Ukrainian officials for supporting her. “My struggle was much easier thanks to them. Our country will definitely return everyone. Glory to Ukraine! Thank you!”

The European Commission proposed on Tuesday an 18th package of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine , aimed at Moscow’s energy revenues, its banks and its military industry. Among the measures, Jennifer Rankin writes from Brussels, the commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has proposed that western countries reduce the price at which Russian oil can be sold to $45 (£30) a barrel, down from $60. Oil exports, she added, represented one-third of Russian government revenues. “We need to cut this source of revenues.”

The EU executive also wants to impose restrictions on doing business with the companies involved in the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, to prevent them being revived ; impose restrictions on doing business with 22 banks, cutting them off from the Swift financial messaging system ; and add more ships to the banned “shadow fleet” list as well as sanctioning oil trading companies. The EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said shadow fleet sanctions were having a marked impact. “When sanctioned, Russia’s shadow fleet tankers cannot dock in ports and Russia has to find new vessels. This costs some more and runs down their profits.”