Poland scrambled fighter jets in the early hours of Tuesday as it responded to Russia's latest attack on Ukraine involving jet-powered drones. Ukraine’s Air Force issued several warnings to Ukrainians, asking them to seek shelter as Russian forces fired jet-powered drones across all of Ukraine. It remains unclear how many drones were fired but at least some of them likely travelled beyond Ukraine's borders, with a Nato fighter jet shooting down a drone in Lithuania shortly after midnight on Tuesday.
Lithuanian officials said the drone likely entered from Belarus and was shot down near Pratkunai village in southern Lithuania, near Kaunas. A drone alert was issued earlier in the capital Vilnius and surrounding region. Military drones straying into the airspace of Russia's neighbours have stoked concerns that Russia's war in Ukraine is spilling over Nato's borders.
This comes as Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv was ready to support a US-led proposal for a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire protecting energy sites – but only if Washington could ensure Moscow was genuinely ready to comply. Volodymyr Zelensky has said Kyiv was ready to support a US-led proposal for a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire protecting energy sites – but only if Washington could ensure Moscow was genuinely ready to end its war. Zelensky made his comments in his nightly video address after US president Donald Trump said that Ukraine and Russia had both agreed not to hit each other's energy targets.
"So far, no one has seen any genuine willingness on Russia's part to bring the war to an end. But if our American partners can secure Russia's genuine readiness to end the war aimed at destroying lives, and to do so honestly and on a long-term basis, Ukraine will take its own de-escalatory steps,” Zelensky said. A drone attack has damaged an industrial facility in the Russian Samara region on the Volga River, governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said on Telegram, without naming the facility.
The region is home to a number of large oil refineries. A missile attack has damaged a warehouse of Russian e-commerce company Ozon in the port city of Taganrog in Russia's south, regional governor Yuri Slyusar said on Telegram. He added that a gas pipe and a few residential buildings were also hit.
A Nato fighter jet shot down a drone in Lithuania shortly after midnight on Tuesday, the Lithuanian national crisis management centre said. The drone, which likely entered from Belarus, was shot down near Pratkunai village in southern Lithuania, near Kaunas, the second-largest city, the centre's spokesperson said. Its origin is yet to be determined, he said.
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