Ukraine & Russia exchange prisoners as Kremlin issues Tomahawk warning

• Ukraine and Russia have both brought home 185 service personnel and 20 civilians in the latest prisoner swap. READ MORE BELOW

• The U.S. will provide Ukraine with intelligence on long-range energy infrastructure targets in Russia, two officials said on Wednesday, as it weighs whether to send Kyiv missiles that could be used in such strikes.

• The Kremlin warned that if the U.S. supplies Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine for strikes deep into Russia it will lead to a dangerous escalation between Russia and the West. READ MORE BELOW

• Russia called the EU's idea of using frozen Russian assets to provide loans for Ukraine, to be repaid eventually using reparations from Moscow, "delusional". READ MORE BELOW

• Belgium's Prime Minister Bart De Wever said he asked other European Union leaders to give guarantees they would share the risks if frozen Russian assets were used to finance loans to Ukraine.

• Poland's interior ministry says border guards ordered a Russian fishing boat away from an area close to a gas pipeline in Polish territory.

• The Russian-installed management of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which has been cut off from external power for more than a week, was quoted as saying that two backup generators will be put into operation within hours after repairs on them are completed.

Ukraine and Russia conduct prisoner swap

Russia and Ukraine exchanged 185 prisoners of war each on Thursday, Moscow and Kyiv said, the latest in a series of swaps that have continued despite the lack of progress towards ending the conflict.

Russia's defense ministry said on Telegram that "185 Russian servicemen have been returned" by Ukraine, adding that 20 civilians were also released as part of the swap.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the exchange, posting pictures of the released Ukrainians, wrapped in national flags, smiling and their heads looking freshly shaved.

"Alongside our defenders, civilians are also returning home – 20 of our people. Everyone will definitely receive all the support they need," Zelenskyy said on social media.

Large-scale prisoner exchanges were the only tangible result of three rounds of peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul between May and July.

The two sides have also conducted several rounds of repatriation of fallen soldiers, the exchanges being the only areas of cooperation between Ukraine and Russia amid the ongoing conflict.

Tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed on both sides since 2022, though neither side regularly publishes data on their own casualties.

Kremlin warns U.S. over Tomahawk supply

The Kremlin said on Thursday that if the U.S. supplied Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine for strikes deep into Russia then there would be a new round of dangerous escalation between Russia and the West.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia had seen the reports that the U.S. was considering such a move and that if it did, then it would require a response from Russia.

"If this happens, it will be a new serious round of tension that will require an adequate response from the Russian side," Peskov told Kremlin correspondent Pavel Zarubin.

"But on the other hand, it also remains obvious that there is no magic pill, no magic weapon for the Kyiv regime, no weapon can radically change the course of events," Peskov said.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said on Sunday that Washington was considering a Ukrainian request for Tomahawks.

Russia attacks EU frozen asset plan

Russia said on Thursday the EU's idea of using frozen Russian assets to provide loans for Ukraine, to be repaid eventually using reparations from Moscow, was "delusional" and would prompt it to retaliate very harshly.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia wanted to remind European Union governments - especially Belgium, where most of the Russian assets are frozen - to comply with their international obligations.

"In accordance with the principle of reciprocity, any EU attack on our property will be met with a very harsh response. They know this, too," Zakharova told reporters.

"Russia has a sufficient arsenal of countermeasures and capabilities for an appropriate political and economic response."

The EU is working on ways to finance Ukraine's defense and reconstruction using frozen Russian central bank assets, although without confiscating them.

It would involve issuing a loan to Ukraine, to be repaid if and when Ukraine receives reparations from Russia in a peace agreement.