Russia's air force scrambled two jets to force two drones to stop reconnaissance near the Crimean peninsula, the Russian defence ministry said on Tuesday. The news came after Russia said one of its jets had “destroyed” a Ukrainian reconnaissance boat near a gas production facility in the Black Sea. Read our live blog for all the latest developments on the war in Ukraine. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
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9:58pm: Russia scrambles jets to intercept two drones over Black Sea, Moscow says
Russia's air force scrambled two jets to force two drones to stop reconnaissance near the Crimean peninsula, the Russian defence ministry said on Tuesday.
"On August 22, the flight of two unmanned aerial vehicles MQ-9 Reaper and TB2 Bayraktar carrying out aerial reconnaissance in the area of the Crimean Peninsula was recorded over the Black Sea by means of the airspace control of the Russian Aerospace Forces," the ministry said.
According to the statement, Russia scrambled two jets forcing the drones "to change the direction of the flight and leave the areas of aerial reconnaissance".
9:23pm: Three dead after Russian shelling of Donetsk region, Ukraine says
Three people were killed and two were injured as a result of Russian shelling of several villages in Ukraine's Donetsk region, the prosecutor general's office said on Tuesday evening.
According to the prosecutors, all three people, two women and a man, were killed in the village of Torske at around 18:50 local time (15:50 GMT).
8:21pm: Prominent journalist says Russia's Surovikin dismissed as head of aerospace forces
A prominent Russian journalist on Tuesday said General Sergei Surovikin, who at one time was commander of Moscow's war effort in Ukraine, has been dismissed as head of the country's aerospace forces.
There was no official confirmation of the report by Alexei Venediktov, the well-connected former head of the now-defunct Ekho Moskvy radio station.
Venediktov on his Telegram channel said Surovikin had been removed by official decree, without providing any further details.
The RBC media outlet later on Tuesday also reported that Venediktov has been dismissed, citing its own sources.
5:26pm: US does not think Ukraine conflict is a stalemate, White House says
The United States does not think the conflict in Ukraine is a stalemate, White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan told a briefing on Tuesday.
"We have been clear all along that this battlefield is very dynamic ... there is attacking and defending taking place on both sides at multiple points along a very extended front line," he said. "We are seeing it (Ukraine) continue to take territory on a methodical, systematic basis."
4:22pm: Ukraine raids military enlistment centres in graft probe
Ukraine said Tuesday law enforcement forces were conducting simultaneous raids on more than 200 military enlistment offices as part of a sweeping corruption probe coinciding with its key counteroffensive.
"Law enforcement officers have uncovered large-scale corruption schemes in almost all regions of the country. Currently, more than 200 simultaneous searches are being conducted in all regions of the country" at recruitment facilities, the office of the prosecutor general said in a statement.
4:05pm: Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow covered by international law, German FM says
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Tuesday defended Ukrainian drone attacks against the Russian capital Moscow as being in line with international law.
Drone strikes that Russia said were carried out by Ukraine have repeatedly targeted the capital.
"Russia attacked Ukraine, therefore Ukraine has a legal right to defend its country," Baerbock said at a press conference in response to a question on the drone attacks.
Russia "incessantly" targeted civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, including grain silos, hospitals and churches, Baerbock said.
"Ukraine is defending itself within the boundaries of international law," she said at the press conference alongside her Estonian counterpart Margus Tsahkna.
2:43pm: Balkan leaders sign declaration in support of Ukraine
The leaders of 11 countries of the Balkan region and eastern Europe signed a joint declaration in support of the territorial integrity of Ukraine during a summit in Athens on Tuesday.
Under the Athens Declaration, signed in the presence of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, the countries expressed their "unwavering support for Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, based on the values of democracy and rule of law" in the face of Russia's aggression.
Apart from Ukraine, the document was signed by the leaders of Serbia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Croatia, as well as Greece which was hosting the event, in the presence of the European Council President Charles Michel and the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The leaders also expressed their "support and appreciation for the earnest efforts by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in setting out the principles for peace in line with the UN Charter, in his Peace Formula".
1:49pm: Ukrainian ‘saboteurs’ stopped from crossing into Russia’s Bryansk, governor says
A group of Ukrainian “saboteurs” attempted to breach Russia’s border in the Bryansk region, Regional Governor Alexander Bogomaz said on Tuesday.
The attempt was thwarted by Russia’s defence ministry, security services and police, Bogomaz said in a post on Telegram.
1:41pm: Ukraine media say Kyiv saboteurs behind recent drone attacks in Russia
Ukrainian saboteurs coordinated by Kyiv’s military intelligence services carried out a pair of recent drone attacks that hit parked bomber aircraft at air bases deep inside Russia, Ukraine media claimed Tuesday.
The attacks on Russian airfields on Saturday and Monday destroyed two Russian bombers and damaged two other aircraft, according to online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda.
That newspaper and Ukraine’s NV news outlet said groups of saboteurs were behind the strikes. It was not possible to verify the claims on the ground.
Ukrainian media attributed two attacks to the saboteurs: a strike Saturday on the Soltsy air base in the Novgorod region in northwestern Russia, about 700 kilometers north of the Ukrainian border, and Monday’s strike against the Shaikovka air base in the southwestern Kaluga region that is about 300 kilometers northeast of the Ukrainian border.
Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov told the Ukrainian LIGA.net news outlet Monday that at least one Russian warplane was damaged in the attack on Shaikovka. He said it was carried out by people who worked in close coordination with Ukrainian military intelligence but gave no further details.
12:31pm: Russia says it destroyed US-made military speedboat near Snake Island
Russia's defence ministry said on Tuesday its forces had destroyed a US-made military speedboat near Snake Island in the Black Sea.
The report could not be immediately verified.
Tiny Snake Island became synonymous with Ukrainian resistance in the first hours of what Russia calls its "special military operation" on February 24, 2022, when Russian officers on the Black Sea Fleet flagship Moskva radioed Ukrainian guards stationed there and ordered them to surrender or die.
12:24pm: Ukraine needs military assistance to overcome massive land mine belt: German minister
A massive belt of land mines laid by Russian military in south-eastern Ukraine is hampering Ukrainian soldiers and Kyiv has made clear that it needs equipment to help it get across, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday.
"We are currently discussing how we can meet this request, not only as Germans but jointly with other partners," she said at a press conference in Berlin alongside her Estonian counterpart.
11:23am: Ukraine says it has entered strategic southeastern village
Ukraine said on Tuesday its troops had entered the strategic southeastern village of Robotyne, a potentially significant advance in its counteroffensive against Russian forces.
Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said on the Telegram messaging app that Ukrainian soldiers were organising the evacuation of civilians after entering Robotyne but were still coming under fire from Russian forces.
Robotyne is 10 kilometres south of the frontline town of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region on an important road towards Tokmak, a Russian-occupied road and rail hub. Tokmak’s capture would be a milestone as Ukrainian troops press southwards towards the Sea of Azov, a military push intended to split Russian occupying forces.
The Institute for the Study of War, an American research group and think tank, has described the Ukrainian attacks on Robotyne as “tactically significant”. Advancing in the area could enable Ukrainian forces to begin operating beyond the densest of the Russian minefields that have held up the counteroffensive launched in early June, it said.
10:03am: Ukraine’s Zelensky says had ‘fruitful’ talks with Serbian president
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday said he had had “open, honest and fruitful” talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
“Good conversation on respect for the UN Charter and the inviolability of borders... On our nations’ shared future in the common European home. On developing our relations, that is in our mutual interest,” Zelensky wrote on the Telegram messaging app beneath a photograph of the two leaders shaking hands.
9:58am: Wagner chief appears in video suggesting he is in Africa
The leader of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, appeared in a video published Monday, suggesting he was in Africa.
Prigozhin, a former Kremlin ally whose group rebelled against Russia’s military leadership in June, has made few public appearances since the mutiny.
The group maintains a strong military presence in Africa, where it has partnered with several nations, including Mali and the Central African Republic.
“We are working. The temperature is above 50 degrees Celsius. Just how we like it,” Prigozhin said in the video, which could not immediately be verified.
The video shows Prigozhin holding an assault rifle, before panning around to reveal military vehicles parked on a large, desert-like plain.
“The Wagner Group is conducting reconnaissance and search activities. Making Russia even greater on every continent—and Africa even freer,” Prigozhin said.
5:38am: Russia says jet 'destroyed' Ukrainian reconnaissance boat in Black Sea
Russia’s defence ministry said early Tuesday one of its Sukhoi jets had “destroyed” a Ukrainian “reconnaissance boat” in the Black Sea.
“Tonight, the crew of the Su-30cm naval aviation of the Black Sea Fleet destroyed a reconnaissance boat of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of Russian gas production facilities in the Black Sea,” the ministry said on Telegram.
The statement did not give details on what kind of boat had been destroyed, or where exactly the incident had taken place.
Russian officials have said they have thwarted a string of Ukrainian marine drone attacks on its warships in the Black Sea.
On Thursday evening, ships of the Russian fleet were targeted by a Ukrainian naval drone attack, according to Moscow’s defence ministry.
2:58am: Russia downs two drones near Moscow
Russian air defences downed two attack drones near Moscow, the city’s mayor said on Tuesday, in the fifth consecutive night of strikes on the capital region.
“Air defence shot down two attack drones. One in the Krasnogorsk area, the other in the Chastsy area,” said Sergei Sobyanin on Telegram, adding that emergency services were responding.
He did not give details on damage or casualties.
Unverified video posted on social media purporting to show the aftermath of a strike in Krasnogorsk showed dozens of people gathered in a street lined by high-rise buildings.
Video published by the RIA Novosti news agency showed debris littering the ground in Krasnogorsk, including what its correspondent said were fragments of a drone.
The facade and windows of a 25-storey building were damaged as well as a number of cars parked nearby, they said.
The area had been cordoned off.
Key developments from Monday, August 21:
Ukraine said it had recaptured another three square kilometres around the war-battered town of Bakhmut, but had made no major advances on the southern front.
Greece announced it will take part in the training of Ukrainian air force pilots for the F-16 jets that Denmark and the Netherlands are set to supply the country.
Read yesterday's live blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
