Ukraine-Russia war latest: Moscow pounds cities with over 1,500 drones in largest two-day aerial attack since war began

Slovakia has condemned the latest Russian air attacks on Ukraine which reached areas with a Slovak minority, Slovak foreign minister Juraj Blanar said on Thursday.

“Slovakia condemns yesterday’s and today’s massive air attacks by the Russian Federation on Ukrainian territory reaching as far as Uzhhorod in the Transcarpathian region near the border with the Slovak Republic, where a sizeable Slovak minority also lives,” Mr Blanar said in a statement.

The condemnation comes despite recent shifts by the Slovakian government towards a more pragmatic and pro-Russian stance, differentiating from its neighbours in the EU.

Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has tied the overnight attack to Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping, saying Russia’s assault proved it posed a threat to international security.

“At the very time when leaders of the most powerful countries are meeting in Beijing, and the world hopes for peace, predictability and cooperation, [Vladimir] Putin launched hundreds of drones, ballistic and cruise missiles at the capital of Ukraine,” Sybiha said on Telegram.

He said there should be “no illusions” about ending the war.

“Only pressure on Moscow can make him stop,” Sybiha said of Putin, adding that US and Chinese leaders had sufficient leverage to compel Russia to end the war.

Neither Putin or Trump have provided details about what has changed to make a peace deal in the Russia-Ukraine conflict possible.

Poland said its air force intercepted a Russian reconnaissance aircraft over international waters in ⁠the Baltic Sea, calling the Russian flight a provocation and potential threat.

“The machine was flying in international airspace without a filed flight plan and with transponders turned off. There was no violation of Polish airspace,” the Polish army said in a social media post. Defence ​minister ⁠Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said ‌flights without transponders on could pose a threat to other aircraft and that its ‌pilots would always respond ‌immediately.

“Our aircraft intercepted a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft over international waters in the Baltic Sea. This is another aggressive action by the Russian Federation and a test of our air defense systems,” he wrote on X.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Polish army said it had undertaken military aviation operations ‌in Polish airspace as a preventative measure ​due to Russian strikes ‌on Ukraine.

“Ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems that were activated have returned to standard operational activities,” the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces wrote on X.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s former right-hand man was taken into custody on Thursday on money-laundering charges.

It is part of a fight by Ukrainian investigators against graft that is fuelling wartime political tensions.

They named Andriy Yermak on Monday as an official suspect in a sprawling, multi-episode case that has gripped Ukraine for months and stoked anger among a war-battered population at high-level corruption.

His arrest represents the deepest authorities have dug into the president’s inner circle in their bid to weed out graft as Kyiv strives for membership in the European Union.

The anti-corruption court also set bail at 140 million hryvnias (£2.4 million), which would allow Mr Yermak – who served as Mr Zelensky’s chief of staff and has denied the allegations against him – to be released pending a final ruling in his case.

“I don’t have that kind of money, and my lawyer will now work with friends and acquaintances (to raise the money for bail),” Yermak told reporters after the court’s decision.

“My legal team will file an appeal. We will use every legal avenue to seek justice and the truth.”

Hungary has summoned the Russian ambassador over a massive drone attack near Hungary’s border with Ukraine, marking a stark shift of tone by new Prime Minister Péter Magyar toward Moscow after years of cozy relations with the Kremlin under former Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán.

The ambassador, Evgeny Stanislavov, is expected at arrive at the foreign ministry around noon Thursday to speak with Hungarian Foreign Minister Anita Orbán about strikes that hit the Ukrainian region of Transcarpathia on Wednesday. The region is home to a sizable Hungarian minority.

“The Hungarian government strongly condemns the Russian attack on Transcarpathia,” Magyar said Wednesday during a press conference in Ópusztaszer in southern Hungary when he announced the summons.

“She will tell him the same and ask for information on when Russia and Vladimir Putin plan to finally end this bloody war that began more than four years ago,” the prime minister added.

The Russian government has not made any public statements on the summons.

UK defence secretary John Healey has condemned Russia for the “shocking” attacks on Ukraine over the past day.

“I’ve directed for UK deliveries of air defence and counter-drone systems to be accelerated as fast as possiblem,” Mr Healey writes on X.

“We stand with Ukraine in the face of Putin’s aggression. Our thoughts are with Ukrainian families,” he added.

Two employees have been injured in a Ukrainian drone attack near the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power ​plant in southeastern Ukraine, the plant’s Russian-installed management said on Thursday.

They were injured 100 meters from the station’s perimeter while travelling in a vehicle as part of their official duties, according to a post by the company’s management on Telegram.

We’re hearing from the Russian defence ministry, which said on Thursday its forces had taken control of the village of Mykolaiivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, state news agency TASS reported.

The Independent could not independently confirm the battlefield report.