Russian air defences down drones over Moscow as tower hit for second time; Poland rushing troops to border with Belarus
Russian air defences shot down several drones targeting the Moscow region on Tuesday, the mayor Sergei Sobyanin said, with one hitting a tower that had also been struck on Sunday. The Russian defence ministry said two drones had been destroyed in the Odintsovo and Narofominsk districts near Moscow, and that a third was jammed and had crashed in the capital. The ministry blamed the attacks on Kyiv. No injuries were reported. Moscow’s Vnukovo airport was also temporarily shut and flights redirected.
Russia also downed a drone in the Sevastopol district of Crimea, according to the local governor. Mikhail Razvozhaev wrote on Telegram: “A UAV was shot down in the Kara-Koba area. An explosion occurred on the ground. Grass and bushes caught fire. Fire brigades are already on site and have begun to put out the blaze.”
The United States has been told that Russia is prepared to return to talks on a deal that had allowed the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain, but “we haven’t seen any evidence of that yet,” the US envoy to the United Nations said on Tuesday.
Poland said on Tuesday it was rushing troops to its eastern border after accusing Belarus, Russia’s closest ally, of violating its airspace with military helicopters. The Belarusian military denied any such violation and accused Nato member Poland, one of Ukraine’s most fervent backers in its conflict with Russia, of making up the accusation to justify a buildup of its troops.
Ukraine and Poland meanwhile called in the ambassadors from each other’s countries on Tuesday as a dispute escalated after a foreign policy adviser to Poland’s president said Kyiv should show more appreciation for Warsaw’s support in its war with Russia. The adviser, Marcin Przydacz, also said the Polish government must defend the interests of the country’s farmers – a reference to a ban on imports of Ukrainian commodities which will expire next month.
The mayor of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, said at least three drones had hit populated areas, one destroying two floors of a dormitory. Ihor Terekhov wrote on Telegram early on Tuesday: “A fire broke out and emergency services are attending. Details on casualties are being clarified.”
Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the general staff of Russia’s armed forces, has visited troops in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, part of which is occupied by Russia and which it claims to have annexed. Gerasimov was one of the military figures repeatedly criticised by Yevgeny Prigozhin before the Wagner group’s aborted uprising.
Ukraine thwarted an overnight attempt by a Russian saboteur group to cross its northern border, the interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said. Serhiy Naev, commander of the joint forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said four armed people attempted to cross the border but were repelled by Ukrainian fire.
