Three fire trains have been sent to battle a blaze at an airfield in Russia allegedly caused by a Ukrainian drone strike, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has met troops in eastern Ukraine to mark the country’s armed forces day.
Here are the latest headlines:
- Drone hits Russian airfield: A drone strike took place Tuesday at an airfield in Russia’s Kursk region, which borders northeastern Ukraine, according to the regional governor, and Moscow Railways sent three fire trains to help put out a resulting fire. The alleged strike comes one day after Russia blamed Ukraine for drone attacks on two Russian military airbases. Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the attacks.
- Russian shelling hits southern and central Ukraine: Russian strikes were reported overnight in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia and central Dnipropetrovsk regions. Critical infrastructure and residential buildings were damaged, but no casualties were reported.
- Zelensky travels to Donbas: Zelensky has visited troops in Donbas in eastern Ukraine to mark Ukrainian Armed Forces Day. The country’s “path to independence lies through a free Donetsk, Luhansk and of course, Crimea,” said the Ukrainian president.
- Shoigu accuses Ukraine of “nuclear terrorism”: Alleged Ukrainian attacks on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) constitute “nuclear terrorism,” Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed on Tuesday. Russian air defense forces are intercepting most Ukrainian weapons, Shoigu added, but some have still managed to hit objects that affect the safety of the nuclear power plant.
- Blinken warns against “phony off-ramp”: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned that Russia could seek a phony off-ramp to the Ukraine war that would not produce a durable peace, and would only allow Russian troops to re-group and attack Ukraine again.
- Soldiers exchanged in prisoner swap: Sixty Russian servicemen have been returned from “Kyiv-controlled territory,” in return for 60 Ukrainian prisoners, authorities from both sides have confirmed.
- Montenegro makes Ukraine donation: Montenegro will donate 11% of its military budget to Ukraine, the prime minister’s office said Monday. The donation, along with “receiving thousands of refugees,” shows the Montenegrin government’s “clear determination to support the defence of Ukrainians,” according to a statement.
