Day 567: A fighter jet is said to have crashed in Russia. Ukraine reports progress on the front. All information in the news blog.
The most important things at a glance
Romania accuses Russia of violating airspace
6.30 p.m.: After another discovery of drone parts in the Romanian Danube Delta, the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest accused Russia of violating the NATO country’s airspace and summoned the Russian ambassador. The Romanian news agency Mediafax reported this on Wednesday, citing the ministry.
The newly found debris belonged to a “drone similar to those used by the Russian army,” the Foreign and Defense Ministries agreed. NATO allies have been informed and are discussing developments on the Romanian-Ukrainian border, the Foreign Ministry said.
New suspected drone debris discovered in Romania
3:15 p.m.: Suspected drone parts have been discovered again in Romania, a little further inland than the first drone debris from last week. The Defense Ministry in Bucharest announced on Wednesday that the air force had found the new fragments near the towns of Nufaru and Victoria in the Danube Delta, around 22 and 25 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, on the Sfantu Gheorghe arm of the Danube.
The locations of the first two drone remains found last week were near Plauru, less than 500 meters from the Ukrainian port of Izmail, which had recently been attacked by Russian combat drones. On Wednesday night, there were air alarm warnings via mobile communications for the first time in the communities bordering Ukraine in the Tulcea and Galati counties. Work was also underway to build air raid shelters near Plauru.
The Defense Ministry said it is still being investigated as to whether Wednesday’s finds were drone remains. According to the ministry, the debris from Plauru came from drones “similar to those used by the Russian army.”
London: Russia “hasty deployed” troops
8:51 a.m.: According to information from British secret services, Russia has moved parts of a new army to Ukraine much earlier than planned. “It is likely that the units were deployed hastily, also as Russia continues to struggle with an overstretched force at the front and Ukraine continues its counteroffensive on three different axes,” the British Ministry of Defense said.
As recently as August, recruitment advertisements for the new Russian 25th Army claimed that the force would not be deployed to Ukraine until December. But the first parts have now “most likely” been sent to Ukraine for the first time and will be stationed in the occupied Luhansk region in the east of the country, it was said in London.
“However, there is also a realistic possibility that Russia will attempt to use parts of the 25th Army to refresh a reserve force in the operational area and thus provide commanders with more operational flexibility,” the ministry said.
Ukraine reports shooting down of 32 Russian drones
7:50 a.m: The Ukrainian armed forces shot down 32 drones fired by Russia early this morning, according to the Air Force. In total, the Russian armed forces used 44 Iranian Shahed drones. The main target was the south of Odessa Oblast, the Ukrainian Air Force said on Telegram. The port infrastructure in particular was targeted by the Russian military.
Russian occupiers: Injured in rocket attack on Sevastopol
5:17 a.m.: Two Russian warships appear to have been damaged in a nighttime attack on Sevastopol Bay in Crimea. Moscow accuses Kiev of being behind the attacks. Read more about it here.
Zelensky defends disclosure of assets of public servants
0.31 a.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj is sticking to a key tool in the fight against corruption in his country under pressure from civil society. The digital declarations of state employees about their financial circumstances should be public again, he said on Tuesday in Kiev. Zelensky vetoed a parliamentary law requiring this information to be kept secret for another year.
