Dozens of Ukrainian POWs believed killed in missile strike

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky (right) talks to the Minister of Infrastructure Oleksander Kubrakov (left) during his visit to Black Sea port of Chornomorsk. Zelensky visited the southern port of Chornomorsk ahead of the first anticipated export of grain under a deal with Russia. Pic/AFP

Dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war appear to have been killed in an missile strike on Friday, with Moscow and Kyiv accusing each other of carrying out the attack.

The incident overshadowed U.N.-backed efforts to restart grain shipments from Ukraine and ease a looming global hunger crisis stemming from the war, now in its sixth month.

Russia's defence ministry said 40 prisoners were killed and 75 wounded in the attack on the prison in the frontline town of Olenivka, in a part of Donetsk province held by separatists. It accused Kyiv of targeting it with U.S.-made HIMARS rockets, Russian news agencies reported.

Olena Zelenska, the first lady of Ukraine, was interviewed by British Vogue for its July issue. The article has pictures shot by Annie Leibovitz of Zelenska and her husband President Volodymyr Zelensky. The interview created a controversy with criticism over romanticising the war, and the couple for the glamorous shoot amid the war. Pic/British Vogue twitter

Ukraine's armed forces denied carrying out strike and blamed it on Russian forces, saying Russian artillery had targeted the prison.

"In this way, the Russian occupiers pursued their criminal goals - to accuse Ukraine of committing ‘war crimes', as well as to hide the torture of prisoners and executions," the general staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said.

The Russian defence ministry said the prison housed Ukrainian prisoners of war and that eight prison staff were also wounded. Russian-backed separatist leader Denis Pushilin was quoted as saying there were no foreigners among 193 people held there.

"The fighting in the region has been intensifying by the day, and civilians must evacuate while it's still possible," said Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko. "The Russian army doesn't worry about civilian casualties. They are pummeling cities and villages in the region."

Ukraine bombs Russian forces

Ukraine stepped up its counter-attacks against Russian forces in the south while Moscow bombed Kyiv's outskirts for the first time in weeks as Europe's biggest conflict since World War Two dragged on with no end in sight. Fifteen people were injured when missiles hit military installations in Vyshhorod district on the edge of the Ukrainian capital on Thursday, Kyiv regional Governor Oleksiy Kuleba said on Telegram.

Exchange of prisoners

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that Moscow would soon propose a time for a call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in which Blinken has said he wants to discuss an exchange of prisoners held in Russian and U.S. jails. Blinken said on Wednesday that Washington had made a "substantial offer" to obtain the release of U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan, both detained in Russia. A source said that Washington was willing to exchange convicted arms trafficker Viktor Bout, jailed in the United States, as part of such a deal.

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