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STORY: Russia and Ukraine conducted a major exchange of prisoners on Saturday (September 14) - 206 people in total - in their second such swap in two days, officials said. :: Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that all 103 Ukrainians returned were from the military. Footage published by Ukrainian authorities showed the men, draped in their national flag, speaking to loved ones over the phone. ::Russian Defence Ministry Russia's Defence Ministry also released video of its returned servicemen on a bus in an undisclosed location. According to the ministry's statement, its 103 soldiers had been taken prisoner in Russia's Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces captured territory early August in their first major incursion into the country. ::80th Separate Air Assault Halytska Brigade ::Released 16 August, 2024 The ministry also said, the prisoner swap came after mediation by the United Arab Emirates. But in the background of the exchange, tensions were rising as Russian officials issued threats to the West and Kyiv of an uncontrolled escalation of war... Coming as Western leaders discussed whether to allow Ukraine to use their weapons to strike deep into Russian territory. U.S. President Joe Biden met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Washington on Friday. [STARMER] “...Ukraine has a right to self defense..." Neither leader addressed the issue of long-range missiles with reporters after the meeting, but Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov alleged the decision had already been made and communicated to Kyiv. ::File State-owned RIA news agency quoted Ryabkov as saying, "And we will react in a way that will not be pretty." While former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of the country's security council, wrote on the Telegram messaging app about turning Kyiv into a "a giant, grey, melted spot". ::National Police of Ukraine Ukraine has said long range strikes are critical for its efforts to stop Moscow's invasion. But allies have so far been reluctant to permit them, citing fears of an escalation while also doubting their efficiency.

Ukrainian officials are asking the U.S. and other allies to allow them to use these weapons despite Russian President Vladimir Putin warning against it.

STORY: :: September 13, 2024 :: Washington, D.C. :: Biden says Putin 'will not prevail in war with Ukraine' “The United States is committed to standing with you to help Ukraine as a defense against Russia's onslaught and aggression, and be clear, make it clear that Putin will not prevail in this war and the people of Ukraine will prevail.” :: The remark came as British PM Starmer visited the White House :: Keir Starmer, British Prime Minister “Starting, of course, with Ukraine, where I think the next few weeks and months could be crucial. Very, very important that we support Ukraine in this vital war of freedom.” :: Putin warned the West that enabling Ukrainian long-range strikes would lead to conflict with Russia “What do you say to Vladimir Putin’s threat of war, Mr. President?” “I don’t think much about Vladimir Putin.” The two leaders discussed the next steps in supporting Ukraine, centring on whether to allow Western missiles to be used to hit targets in Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been pleading with allies for months to let Ukraine fire Western missiles including long-range U.S. ATACMS and British Storm Shadows deep into Russia to limit Moscow's ability to launch attacks. The New York Times reported, citing European officials, that the United States looks set to approve the use by Ukraine of long range missiles against targets in Russia on the condition that the weapons were not those provided by the United States. President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the West would be directly fighting with Russia if it allowed Ukraine to strike Russian territory with Western-made long-range missiles, a move he said would alter the nature and scope of the conflict.

President Biden hosted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House Friday. Topping the agenda was support for Ukraine as the nation's leaders have been pushing for the U.S. to let it strike deeper into Russian territory using Western-supplied weapons. CBS News senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang has the details.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is commenting on a potential NATO and U.S. decision that could allow Ukraine to use Western-supplied long-range missiles to hit targets in Russia. CBS News senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang has more.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says NATO will be directly involved in the war if Ukraine gets its hands on long-range missiles.

Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a strong warning against Ukraine using Western missiles, saying it would mean NATO and the United States are at war with Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of escalating the conflict by attacking a civilian ship transporting grain in the Black Sea on Thursday. CBS News foreign correspondent Ian Lee has more on the missile strike.

STORY: Poland's foreign minister on Thursday joined calls to allow Ukraine to fire Western-supplied missiles deep into Russia... ... saying the West should (quote) "lift restrictions on the use of long-range weapons." His comments came during a joint news conference in Warsaw with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken... ... who said he had extensive discussions with Ukrainian officials in Kyiv on Wednesday... ...but declined to say whether the U.S. was ready to approve such strikes. "What we learned from our Ukrainian partners will inform discussions that we'll be having with other allies and other partners in the days and weeks ahead, as we work through and think through the coming months..." Ukraine has been pressing the U.S. and other Western allies to authorize long-range strikes that it says will help to counter Russia's relentless aerial attacks. Russia has warned that any decision to allow Ukraine to strike Russia with long-range Western missiles would deepen what it called the direct involvement of the U.S. and Europe in the war and would trigger a response from Moscow.

STORY: Liliia Shulha has landed her dream job after years in what she described as "boring, sedentary" office work. Now she drives trucks with Ukraine's leading retailer, Fozzy Group. Ukraine has lost more than a quarter of its workforce since Russia's invasion in 2022, central bank data shows. And businesses are hiring more women in traditionally male-dominated roles. Childcare is in short supply though, and Shulha had to move back in with her parents for help with her two teenagers. "Yes, people are curious and shocked when they see me. They all film me on their phones when I deliver or load my lorry. They take pictures of me, whether it's passers-by or others, they're all shocked. Soon there'll be more us, and people won't be that shocked anymore. Soon it won't be news anymore that women work in such professions. Then people will leave me alone." Millions of people, mostly women and children, have fled abroad, and tens of thousands of men have been mobilized. Reuters spoke to representatives of nine Ukrainian companies who found that staff shortages and a growing mismatch of skills were big challenges. In the agricultural southern region of Mykolayiv, women like Maria Korolenko are being trained as tractor drivers, as well as tram and truck drivers, coal miners, security guards, and warehouse workers, companies say. "I understood how necessary it was for me to work. Not only for me and not only for my family. Right now, unfortunately, the men are being taken away - more and more of them are being taken away. And it's so hard. Now we do all the work that the boys used to do. // When the war is over, when we win, the guys will come back and give us holidays." Businesses have raised wages, and are hiring more retirees and teenagers. Vodafone has repackaged its youth program to bring more young people on board. Ilona Voloshyna is head of training and development in Kyiv. "Right now, we're feeling the shortfall even more. If we look at the numbers from last year, around 40 percent of our specialists have left our shops. So, we're feeling the lack of the workforce in the market." The government and foreign partners have launched several programs to help Ukrainians reskill. But analysts expect the jobs crisis to persist and warn it could endanger post-war recovery.

STORY: The US and Britain's top diplomats unveiled more than a billion dollars in new, combined support for Ukraine Wednesday. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and UK foreign minister David Lammy were visiting Kyiv to hear Ukraine's war goals. In a press conference bookended by air raid sirens, both foreign ministers also hinted at lifting limits on for long-range missile strikes into Russia - which Ukraine desperately wants. However there was no clear answer by the end of the briefing. "Among other things, we discussed long-range fires, but a number of other things as well. And as I said at the outset, I'm going to take that discussion back to Washington to brief the president on what I heard, I know that David is doing the same." Lammy and Blinken had arrived at a critical juncture in Ukraine's struggle against Russia. Russia has been advancing in the east, putting pressure on Kyiv. Meanwhile, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been pleading with allies to remove curbs on long-range U.S. ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles, to strike deep into Russian territory. But Washington, and some European capitals, fear that would provoke Moscow and draw the West into a direct conflict with Russia. Overnight, U.S. President Joe Biden suggested there was room for compromise and that his administration was 'working out' the long-range strike limits. While Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of Russia's lower parliament, said Moscow would consider the U.S. and its allies to be parties to the war if they allowed Kyiv to use long-range weapons to strike deep in Russia. Speaking on Wednesday, Zelenskiy revealed he will travel to the U.S. later this month, to present a plan to Biden and both candidates in November's presidential election that he hopes will bring the end of the war closer.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Wednesday as the two diplomats traveled together at a crucial point in Ukraine’s standoff with Russia.

STORY: :: U.S.'s Blinken, UK's Lammy promise more aid for Ukraine during a visit to Kyiv :: Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State "With an expansion of attacks from Russia pummeling Ukrainian cities, citizens, infrastructure, with monstrous brutality. And now Putin's further empowering his aggression with the acquisition of Iranian ballistic missiles. So we're working with urgency to continue to ensure that Ukraine has what it needs to effectively defend itself." // "Among other things, we discussed long-range fires, but a number of other things as well. And as I said at the outset, I'm going to take that discussion back to Washington to brief the president on what I heard, I know that David is doing the same." :: September 11, 2024 :: David Lammy, UK Foreign Minister "Today, I can confirm more than 600 million worth of support for Ukraine, including 242 million this financial year for immediate humanitarian, energy and stabilization needs, as well as support for reform, recovery and reconstruction." Blinken and Lammy are expected to push Ukraine for more information on its strategic aims as they consider whether to give the go-ahead, according to Western sources. There is nervousness in Washington and some European capitals that doing so would provoke Russia towards a direct conflict with the West, while officials also recognize that Ukraine needs more help if it is to swing the war in its favor. Blinken has declined to say whether Washington would give permission but said multiple factors went into any decision.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top officials. CBS News intelligence and national security reporter Olivia Gazis reports.