Russian invasion

The world's response
Romanian F16 planes destroyed drones near gas projects

Romanian F16 fighter jets destroyed a naval drone on Thursday just a few hundred meters from the Neptun Deep fossil gas project in the Black Sea. This was stated by the country's Defense Minister Radu Miruta according to TT.

The drone was said to have been "filled with explosives". According to Miruta, he has received confirmation that the drone was not launched from Ukraine. However, he does not explicitly point out Russia as responsible either.

The incident underlines the growing threat that drones pose to critical energy infrastructure in the Black Sea, writes AFP.

On Thursday, both Romania and Poland temporarily raised their readiness due to major Russian attacks on Ukraine. 

The fighting
103 Ukrainians were allowed to come home: "They need to know that someone is waiting for them"

103 prisoners of war on each side have been handed over in the first prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine since June, the 77th since the invasion began in February 2022. This is reported by several media outlets.

In Chernihiv, Ukrainian soldiers were welcomed with cigarettes and phone calls from relatives. Several of the former prisoners of war have been isolated from the outside world for several years, writes DN, which is on site. The very first thing they need to know when they are released across the border into Ukraine is that someone is waiting for them, crisis psychologist Olha Koval tells the newspaper.

- During captivity, they are constantly told that they are forgotten, that no one cares anymore, says Koval.