Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky celebrates major ‘hit’ against Moscow after anti-drone weapon test success

Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine had recorded some success as it tests a new weapon to intercept Russian drones.

Ukraine’s military said its forces had downed 187 airborne targets overnight, with Ukraine’s president reporting 93 per cent of all Russian drones had been intercepted.

"That is significant. But, of course, more is needed," ⁠he said. "Another development is undergoing testing.

“It's a Ukrainian development and it scored a hit, the 'shahed' was destroyed," Zelensky said in his nightly video address, ⁠referring to the Iranian-designed ​drones that ⁠Ukraine's military has faced.

"But some technical things still need to be ⁠refined. We need a bit more time. The ​work ⁠of other developers ‌is continuing."

It comes as Vladimir Putin’s war continues to spread past Ukraine’s borders, with Denmark accusing Russia of firing flares “within metres” of a military helicopter.

Defence minister Jeppe Bruus said no warning or radio contact was made before the warship fired the flares.

Moscow accused Danish military helicopters of making “dangerous” manoeuvres near its warships in the Baltic Sea and handed an official note to Copenhagen on the incident, Russia’s ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir Barbin, is reported to have said, according to RIA.

Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed Russian drones attacked Moldovan airspace twice while he was in the country aboard his aircraft.

Zelenskiy told the US ⁠television network CBS that he was in Moldova on Ukraine's western border, at Chisinau airport, on his way to and from a trip abroad when the incidents occurred.

"In Moldova, my presidential jet was there and that's why they attacked Moldova, the airspace of Moldova. Maybe they didn't want to attack me personally...," Zelensky said.

“When we came back home, again through ​Chisinau, ⁠again they did the same.”

Last week, a Moldovan government spokesperson said the departure of Zelensky's aircraft for Norway was delayed as Moldovan authorities closed the country's airspace over a drone alert.

Two Russian drones entered Moldovan airspace on that day. One landed in a field north of the capital, triggering a fire, while ⁠the second carried on into Romanian airspace.

Zelensky had not previously spoken of the second incident. It was not clear exactly when the president was again in transit in Moldova on his way back to Ukraine from Canada.

A Russian strike caused a fire at a warehouse in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in the early hours of this morning, city authorities said.

Ukraine’s air force has issued dozens of alerts since midnight warning of the threat from jet-powered Russian drones, guided aerial bombs and missiles across the country on its Telegram channel.

Ukraine has carried out tests on a new weapon to intercept drones and had recorded a successful hit overnight, Volodymyr Zelensky said.

"Another development is undergoing testing. It's a Ukrainian development and it scored a hit, the 'shahed' was destroyed," Zelensky said in his nightly video address, ⁠referring to the Iranian-designed ​drones that ⁠Ukraine's military has faced.

"But some technical things still need to be refined. We need a bit more time. The work of other developers is continuing."

Ukraine's military said on Facebook that its forces had downed 187 airborne targets overnight.

In his remarks, Zelenskiy said 93 per cent of all Russian drones had been intercepted overnight. "That is significant. But, of course, more is needed," ⁠he said.

Russia’s intelligence services are plotting to carry out targeted killings and acts of terrorism in the US and European nations that support Ukraine, federal authorities said as they announced charges against five people who remain at large.

An indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court said a network of the intelligence services has paid and attempted to pay individuals in the United States and in other countries to surveil targets to be killed, with plans to then kill them.

The associates recruited in the network also have been solicited to carry out acts of terrorism against civilian and military infrastructure in European countries that are perceived to be aligned with Ukraine, the indictment said.

The FBI disrupted the plans “through relentless work” as members of the Russian Intelligence Services and their affiliates "conspired to intimidate, threaten, or murder people on US soil and around the world,” said James C Barnacle, Jr, head of New York's FBI office.

Russian hockey champion Alexander Ovechkin was asked to participate in a video campaign for the United Russia political party, which is backed by Russian president Vladimir Putin, while in his native country this summer, the Washington Capitals said on Tuesday.

The National Hockey League's all-time leading goal scorer can be seen standing behind Russian foreign ⁠minister Sergey Lavrov in a political campaign ad for the ruling United Russia party.

The appearance has drawn criticism, with Ovechkin facing scrutiny over his longstanding ties to Putin as Russia wages war in Ukraine.

"Alex Ovechkin is a Russian citizen who lives in Moscow with his family during the offseason and will live there following his retirement. This summer, while in Russia, he was asked by his country to participate in a video campaign," Capitals spokesperson Sergey Kocharov said in a statement to Reuters.

“As the longest-tenured athlete in Washington, DC and a pillar of the community, his focus and ours is on the season ahead and the continued impact he ‌makes on the ice and in our city.”

Russia’s foreign ministry claims western politicians ignored warnings not to visit Ukraine.

Western politicians and diplomats should “soberly” evaluate existing risks to visit Ukraine, the ministry said as it claimed that Russia warned foreign diplomats in May to leave Kyiv due to Moscow’s strikes on the country.

Boris Johnson was on board a train near the Polish border on Sunday as he returned from a security conference in Kyiv when a Russian drone targeted a stationary passenger train directly behind his.

A Kremlin spokesperson did not deny that Russia was responsible for the attack, saying its forces would continue to operate across Ukrainian territory.

Poland is reinforcing its border crossings with Ukraine, Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz says, after Russian drone attacks just miles from the Nato member's guard posts at the frontier over the weekend.

A Russian drone hit a passenger train on Ukraine's border with Poland on Sunday while another hit a truck at a nearby petrol station.

Border guards later said they had had to suspend crossings, evacuate vehicles and seek shelter.

"Recent days show that Russia's actions threaten the security of all of Europe. In accordance with our government's decision, the infrastructure used by the Border Guard is being strengthened," Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote.

"Soldiers of the 18th Engineer Regiment are already carrying out tasks, thanks to which the checkpoints and infrastructure near the Polish-Ukrainian border will be reinforced."

The UN humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine ​says his organisation is considering moving aid supplies underground to dodge Russian strikes, which have hit 10 of its warehouses ⁠this year, destroying millions of pounds’ worth of supplies.

One of the World Health Organisation’s main warehouses containing medical supplies was hit earlier this month, and other strikes have ⁠destroyed hygiene kits and ​children's ⁠school supplies, said UN humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine, Matthias Schmale.

"These deliberate attacks ⁠on warehousing capacities (...) is a new trend of ​the ⁠last few months," he ‌said.

He said ‌the UN was considering moving supplies into ‌underground bunkers and were delaying purchases of aid supplies until the last minute to reduce exposure to strikes.

"This feels ⁠increasingly like the front line is moving into the air," he said.

"That means extra cost also to the taxpayers, who at the end of the day pay for the goods that the UN and other humanitarians bring in," he said.