Ukraine war latest: 103 POWs returned home in latest exchange with Russia

Key developments on Aug. 19:

• Ukraine brings home 103 POWs in latest exchange with Russia
• Russian drone strike on police headquarters in Zhytomyr kills 2, injures at least 20
• Deadly drone strike hits minibus in Kherson as Russian attacks kill 17, injure 54 across Ukraine over past day
• Ukrainian drones reportedly target oil refinery in Russia's Ufa, attack Tula, Nizhny Novgorod oblasts
• Ukraine hits rocket and space center, aircraft plant in Russia's Samara Oblast, General Staff confirms

Ukraine brought home 103 prisoners of war (POWs) from Russian captivity in the latest exchange between Kyiv and Moscow, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 19.

As part of the exchange, Ukraine handed 103 Russian service members back to Russia, according to Russia's Defense Ministry.

Those released from  Russian captivity include service members from the Ukrainian Armed Forces, State Border Guard Service, and National Guard, Zelensky said.

Among those returning are soldiers who defended Mariupol and fought on the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Dnipro, and Sumy sectors of the front line, according to the president.

Most of the service members who returned from captivity are soldiers and sergeants. The oldest is 59, while the youngest is 26, Ukraine's Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets said.

Some of those released are also seriously wounded or suffering from serious illnesses, according to Lubinets.

"We remember every man and woman who still remains in captivity. We are doing everything possible to bring all our people home," Zelensky said.

Russian drone strike on police headquarters in Zhytomyr kills 2, injures at least 20

Russian forces struck the regional headquarters of Ukraine's National Police in Zhytomyr with Banderol drones on Aug. 19, killing two police officers and injuring at least 20 people, according to First Deputy Head of the National Police Maksym Tsutskiridze.

"Zhytomyr came under a cynical attack by Russian forces — the enemy struck with Banderol-type drones," Tsutskiridze said.

The attack hit the building of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Zhytomyr Oblast, causing a fire on the roof and fourth floor, according to Tsutskiridze.

Police officers, first responders, and other emergency services were working at the scene, assisting those injured and documenting the consequences of the attack.

Deadly drone strike hits minibus in Kherson as Russian attacks kill 17, injure 54 across Ukraine over past day

A Russian drone struck a minibus in Kherson's Korabelnyi district at around 8:50 a.m. local time on Aug. 19, killing four people and injuring five others. All those injured women were hospitalized, according to Governor Oleksandr Prokudin.

"The vicious Russian 'safari' against our people in Kherson has long gone beyond anything a normal person could imagine," Zelensky said on X.

"These are the realities of everyday life in Ukraine's frontline regions. While partners hesitate over additional supplies of defense equipment, the Russians have long run wild," the president added.

Nine other people were injured in Russian attacks across Kherson Oblast over the previous day, Prokudin said. The strikes targeted critical infrastructure and residential areas, damaging three apartment buildings, a restaurant, and several cars.

Ukrainian drones reportedly target oil refinery in Russia's Ufa, attack Tula, Nizhny Novgorod oblasts

Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery in the Russian city of Ufa on Aug. 19, while Russia's Tula and Nizhny Novgorod oblasts also came under attack overnight, according to local authorities and monitoring channels.

The large-scale attacks come as Ukrainian forces have stepped up strikes on Russian military production facilities and oil industry targets. Russia's Defense Ministry claimed that its air defenses destroyed 453 Ukrainian drones overnight on Aug. 19 over 21 Russian regions, as well as occupied Crimea and the Black Sea.

Bashkortostan Governor Radiy Khabirov said six drones targeted Ufa, four of which were shot down. One of the drones crashed in an industrial area, though the official did not specify which facility was affected.

Another drone struck a residential building in Ufa's Zaton district, damaging windows on the upper floors and parked cars below, according to Khabirov. One person was injured, he said.

OSINT analysts from the independent Russian outlet Astra reported that the Bashneft-UNPZ oil refinery was damaged in the attack, with a fire reported at the facility.

Ukraine hits rocket and space center, aircraft plant in Russia's Samara Oblast, General Staff confirms

Ukrainian forces damaged a production facility at the Progress rocket and space center and an aircraft maintenance facility at the Aviakor plant in the Russian city of Samara on Aug. 15, the General Staff said on Aug. 19.

Residents reported explosions in Samara at around 5 a.m. local time on Aug. 15, while videos that began circulating on social media showed smoke rising near the Progress center and Aviakor plant.

Zelensky earlier confirmed the Aug. 15 strike on the Progress Center, saying Ukrainian forces used domestically produced Flamingo missiles to target facilities located around 900 kilometers (560 miles) from Ukraine. The president did not specify that facilities at two enterprises had been damaged.

The General Staff added that the attack on the Progress Rocket and Space Center in Samara also sparked a fire covering around 5,000 square meters.

The Progress Rocket and Space Center is one of Russia's key enterprises in the missile and space industry and is involved in producing the Soyuz family of launch vehicles. Its products are used, among other purposes, to launch spacecraft into orbit and deploy Russian satellite communications constellations for Russian forces, according to the General Staff.

"Strikes on facilities of this importance significantly weaken Russia’s military and technological capabilities," the General Staff said.