Russian prisoners captured in Kursk offensive freed in prisoner swap on Ukrainian Independence Day
Ukraine and Russia are set to exchange 115 prisoners, including several captured inside Kursk, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said as the country marked Ukrainian Independence Day.
Speaking on Saturday, Mr Zelenskyy described Ukraine's offensive into the Russian region as "justice" and a "boomerang for evil", adding that it is proving "difficult" but "progressing well".
He said Ukraine will do everything it can to end the war through diplomacy - but referred to the Russian border as that "between Ukraine and oppression, between life and death… an independent European state and the number one terrorist organisation in the world".
The prisoner swap is the first of its kind since Ukraine launched its offensive over the Russian border earlier this month - and the seventh since the start of the war.
It has been brokered by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which has maintained relations with Moscow despite global condemnation of the conflict.
Russians released from Kursk are now in Belarus, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Saturday.
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Ukrainian forces have gained fresh momentum from the Kursk incursion - and the delayed arrival of US weaponry this month.
US President Joe Biden has since announced a fresh package of military aid, including air defence missiles, mobile rocket systems and counter-drone equipment, declaring "America's unwavering support for the people of Ukraine".
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer issued his own message of support ahead of an Independence Day ceremony hosted by British Ukrainian Aid in Holland Park, west London.
Sir Keir promised the UK is "with you for as long as it takes", signing off: "Slava Ukraini".
"My message to all Ukrainians, whether on the front line or here in your second home in the UK, is crystal clear: we are with you today and always," Sir Keir said.
"That is what I told President Zelensky when he sat at our Cabinet table and where, on behalf of the British people, I outlined that it is not just the British government that's behind Ukraine - it's all of us."
Advances in Kharkiv and attack on Volgograd
On the frontline, Ukraine said its 3rd Separate Assault Brigade has advanced almost two square kilometres (1.2 square miles) in the Kharkiv region.
Satellite images also show damage to a Russian airbase in the Volgograd region following a Ukrainian drone attack.
Russia's state Tass news agency said a separate attack on a cargo ferry at the port of Kavkaz in the Krasnodar region left 13 people injured on Friday.
Mr Zelenskyy reminded Ukrainians it has been 913 days since Vladimir Putin's forces invaded after marking Ukraine's National Flag Day and meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.
"We know what independence is. How difficult it is to revive it. How difficult it is to defend it," he said. But he vowed that Russia "will not succeed".
Mr Zelenskyy also signed various pieces of legislation to mark Independence Day - one moving the country closer to joining the International Criminal Court (ICC) and another facilitating a ban on Russian-linked branches of the Orthodox church.
Laws aimed at outlawing Russian-linked religious entitles will take force in 30 days time - giving them nine months to break ties with the country.
