One dead and eight unaccounted for in explosion at factory near Moscow that used to supply Russian military; Ukrainian forces launch raid across Dnipro river that serves as frontline in southern Ukraine
An explosion on the grounds of a factory north of Moscow that previously made optical equipment for the Russian military killed one person, wounded 60 others and left at least eight people unaccounted for, officials said. No official explanation was given for the explosion in the city of Sergiev Posad, which produced a tall plume of black smoke and added to jitters over recent night-time drone attacks on Moscow.
Ukrainian forces have made an attempt to cross the Dnipro river dividing liberated and occupied Kherson potentially breaching what has for months served as the frontline in the south of Ukraine. Russian military bloggers reported that up to seven boats, each carrying around six to seven people, landed near the settlement of Kozachi Laheri, east of Kherson city, and broke through Russian defensive lines.
Two people were killed and seven injured in an apparent missile attack by Russia on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia. Ukrainian officials said Russia targeted a residential area and a video posted by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy showed smoke billowing from burning and badly damaged buildings next to a church.
Thirty secondhand Leopard I battle tanks are to be refurbished by the arms manufacturer Rheinmetall at the orders of the German government and exported to Ukraine, a spokesperson for the company has confirmed. The tanks are part of a fleet of 49 vehicles that the Düsseldorf-based company bought from the Belgian private defence company OIP Land Systems.
Germany and Ukraine have also agreed on the supply of two additional Patriot air defence missile systems to Kyiv, Zelenskiy said in his latest evening address. “This will definitely bring us closer to creating a full-fledged air shield for Ukraine. This will help people, cities, villages,” Zelenskiy said.
German prosecutors meanwhile arrested an officer from the military procurement agency on suspicion of passing secret information to Russian intelligence, the federal prosecutor’s office said. Germany, one of the largest providers of military hardware to Ukraine, is a major target of Russian spying operations, which have grown in scale since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, authorities have warned.
The US and Canada imposed new sanctions on Belarus over its human rights abuses and support for the war in Ukraine. The new US measures include action against the state carrier Belavia and target a tobacco mogul close to president Alexander Lukashenko as well as 101 officials accused of subverting democracy.
Two Ukrainian combat drones headed for Moscow were shot down, Russian officials said on Wednesday, the latest attack targeting the capital. Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram, “Two combat drones’ attempt to fly into the city was recorded. Both were shot down by air defence”.
One person was killed by Ukrainian shelling in the border village of Gorkovsky, Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia’s Belgorod region on Ukraine’s northeastern border, said. Belgorod has suffered frequent artillery and drone attacks in the last few months, and in May saw an armed cross-border
incursion by a raiding party purportedly consisting of Russian nationals.
Moscow accused Poland and Finland of threatening its security on Wednesday and vowed a response to multiplying “threats” on Russia’s western frontier from Nato members. “Threats to the military security of the Russian Federation have multiplied in the western and northwestern strategic directions,” defence minister Sergei Shoigu said at a meeting with military officials. Those risks “require a timely and adequate response,” he added.
Warsaw earlier announced it would send an additional 2,000 troops to its eastern border to join the 2,000 soldiers already stationed there, as it strengthens its border with Belarus after it became a new base for the Russian Wagner mercenary group. Last week Poland said Belarusian helicopters had violated its airspace and has warned of provocations from Belarus.
