Ukraine and Russia traded almost 200 prisoners of war in a swap announced separately by both sides on Saturday, with the bodies of two British volunteers also being sent back to Ukraine. The Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said 116 Ukrainians had been returned, while Russian news agencies cited Moscow’s defence ministry saying 63 Russian POWs had been freed. “We managed to return 116 of our people, defenders of Mariupol, partisans from Kherson, snipers from the Bakhmut [front] and other heroes of ours,” Yermak wrote on Telegram. Ukraine restores power after substation fire, beats back Bakhmut attack Yermak also said the bodies of British volunteer aid workers Andrew Bagshaw and Chris Parry had been sent back to Ukraine. Bagshaw and Parry were killed during an attempted humanitarian evacuation in eastern Ukraine in January, Parry’s family has previously said. Russia’s Defence Ministry said the released Russian servicemen included “sensitive category” individuals, whose exchange was made possible through the mediation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to agencies. US to use money seized from Russian oligarch for Ukraine aid Also on Saturday, a serious accident at a high-voltage substation in Ukraine’s Odesa region has caused emergency power outages in the regional capital, leaving half a million households without power, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said. “The situation is difficult, the scale of the accident is significant, it is impossible to quickly restore power supply, in particular to critical infrastructure,” Shmyhal wrote on Telegram. He said the substation had previously been damaged multiple times by Russian missile strikes. Odesa region governor Maksym Marchenko described the accident as “serious,” adding that the energy minister and the head of state-run electricity grid operator Ukrenergo had been sent to the city. “A number of generators will be delivered to the region of Odesa within the next 24 hours,” he said. “We expect the first generators to arrive tonight.” For months Moscow has systematically targeted Ukraine’s energy grid, leaving millions in the dark and cold in the middle of winter. The Black Sea port of Odesa was a favourite holiday destination for many Ukrainians and Russians before President Vladimir Putin sent troops to pro-Western Ukraine last February. Meanwhile, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the supply of more advanced US weaponry to Ukraine would only trigger more retaliatory strikes from Russia, up to the extent of Russia’s nuclear doctrine. “All of Ukraine that remains under Kyiv’s rule will burn,” journalist Nadana Fridrikhson quoted him as saying in a written interview with her. Fridrikhson asked Medvedev, who as deputy chairman of the Security Council has become one of Russia’s most hawkish pro-war figures since its invasion of Ukraine, whether the use of longer-range weapons might force Russia to negotiate with Kyiv. “The result will be just the opposite”, Medvedev replied, in comments that Fridrikhson posted on her Telegram channel. “Only moral freaks, of which there are enough both in the White House and in the Capitol, can argue like that”. The Pentagon had said on Friday that a new rocket that would double Ukraine’s strike range was included in a US$2.175 billion US military aid package. Earlier in the week, the United States had warned Turkey about the export to Russia of chemicals, microchips and other products that can be used in Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine, and it could move to punish Turkish companies or banks contravening sanctions. Brian Nelson, the US Treasury Department’s top sanctions official, visited Turkish government and private sector officials on Thursday and Friday to urge more cooperation in disrupting the flow of such goods. In a speech to bankers, Nelson said a marked year-long rise in exports to Russia leaves Turkish entities “particularly vulnerable to reputational and sanctions risks”, or lost access to G7 markets. They should “take extra precaution to avoid transactions related to potential dual-use technology transfers that could be used by the Russian military-industrial complex,” he said in a copy of the speech issued by the Treasury. EU leaders pledge support as air raid sirens sound across Ukraine during visit In the meetings in Ankara and Istanbul, Nelson and a delegation highlighted tens of millions of dollars of exports to Russia that raised concerns, according to a senior US official who requested anonymity. “There is no surprise … that Russia is actively looking to leverage the historic economic ties it has in Turkey,” the official said. “The question is what is the Turkish response going to be.” Nato member Ankara opposes the sweeping sanctions on Russia on principle but says they will not be circumvented in Turkey, urging the West to provide any evidence. Citing Russian customs records, Reuters reported in December that at least US$2.6 billion of computer and other electronic components flowed into Russia in the seven months to October 31. At least US$777 million of these products were made by Western firms whose chips have been found in Russian weapons systems. Ankara has balanced its good ties with both Moscow and Kyiv throughout the war, held early talks between the sides and also helped broker a deal for grain shipments from Ukraine.