International• 15:13 • Modified at 15:13 Drone production ramped up, 'Russia can continue attacks indefinitely' Author : Mark van Harreveld Russia is increasing the capacity of its drones and seems able to continue its attacks indefinitely. It is a new phase of the war, which coincides with a new Russian offensive, says Chris Colijn, correspondent in Kyiv. 'They are now making about 160 drones a day, which they often save up, to fire hundreds of drones at a time in larger attacks on specific cities.'
In the meantime, Russia and Ukraine have started the largest prisoner exchange to date. The first group consists of wounded and people younger than twenty-five. The intention is to exchange around twelve hundred people in the coming days. This is good news for family members, but it has no effect on the course of the war. In fact, Russia continues to fire record numbers of drones and is still booking small successes, says Colijn.
'Peace is far away, especially when you look at last night's attacks' Chris Colijn, correspondent Russian troops have captured territory in Ukraine in recent days, both in the northeast of the country and in the southeast of the front line. It currently controls just under a fifth of Ukraine's territory and has captured over 190 square kilometers in the eastern Ukrainian region of Sumy in a month. 'Ukraine says that's not entirely true, but the mere fact that this discussion about a new province is going on already tells us that things are very difficult for Ukraine and that Russia is achieving successes.'
Read also Ukraine is making major adjustments to its budget deficit to maintain defence levels The situation in Sumy in particular is worrying. The authorities do not yet consider it necessary to evacuate people, but the Russians are now about twenty-five kilometres from the city centre, says Colijn. In the meantime, the prisoner exchange has started, to the great relief of family and friends. 'This week, about twelve hundred people will be released on both sides, mainly seriously injured and relatively young prisoners of war – people who have sometimes been held for three years. In Ukraine, people are extremely happy that they are coming back.'
Treated extremely badly The joy about the returning prisoners of war is great, says Colijn, if only because there are great concerns about torture by the Russians. 'There are countless stories of Ukrainians who have been treated incredibly badly. So if those people return to Ukraine, they can undergo a normal medical examination there. They are treated well and can recover from their injuries with their family and friends.'
According to Colijn, there is no progress in the talks on a ceasefire, let alone lasting peace. The talks in Istanbul in particular between Russian and Ukrainian delegations are continuing, and that is already quite something. 'But in terms of concrete results, the prisoner exchanges are actually the only thing that comes out of it. Peace is far away, certainly if you also look at the attacks last night, again.'
