Closing summary
It’s 11pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:
Russian air defences shot down several drones targeting the Moscow region, 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.”
Poland’s ministry of defence said it will increase the number of troops at its border with Belarus after two helicopters from Belarus violated Poland’s airspace on Tuesday. Poland’s military initially denied that helicopters with Belarusian insignia had crossed into Polish airspace, but by Tuesday evening, the defence ministry acknowledged there “was a violation of Polish airspace by two Belarusian helicopters that were carrying out training near the border”.
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.
That’s it from me, Léonie Chao-Fong, and the Russia-Ukraine war blog today. Thank you for following.
Polish residents in an area near the border with Belarus reported earlier on Tuesday that they had seen helicopters with Belarusian insignia which they said flew overhead.
Poland’s military initially denied that they had crossed into Polish airspace, but by evening, the defence ministry acknowledged there “was a violation of Polish airspace by two Belarusian helicopters that were carrying out training near the border”.
The ministry added that Belarus had earlier informed Poland of plans to carry out training exercises in the area. It said they were flying at a low altitude and were not picked up by radar.
In response to the incursion, Polish defence minister Mariusz Błaszczak ordered an increase in the number of soldiers along the border, as well as an increase in other resources, including combat helicopters, the ministry said.
In a separate statement, the Polish foreign ministry said the chargé d’affaires of Belarus was “immediately summoned” and that Warsaw “issued a firm protest and called on the Belarusian side to immediately and in detail explain the incident”. It added:
The Polish side emphasized that the incident is perceived as another element of the escalation of tension on the Polish-Belarusian border. Poland expects Belarus to refrain from such activities
