𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Russia prefers political and diplomatic means to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, but Kyiv and the West reject that path, Russian news agencies reported yesterday, citing Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

“Our preferred route is through political and diplomatic means,” Mr Peskov said, according to TASS state news agency.

The Russian official added, without providing evidence, that Moscow continued its military operation in Ukraine because “all proposals for dialogue were rejected, both by Ukraine and by Western countries”.

In Ukraine’s Dnipro region on Saturday, three people died in Russian shelling, while two were killed in Russia’s Rostov region after a Ukrainian drone strike.

Ten missiles and 25 drones found their targets, striking nine locations, while air defences shot down or intercepted the rest, according to Ukraine’s Air Force.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has urged Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky to uphold independent anti-corruption bodies as she also promised continued support for Ukraine on its path to EU membership.

“Ukraine has already achieved a lot on its European path. It must build on these solid foundations and preserve independent anti-corruption bodies, which are cornerstones of Ukraine’s rule of law,” Ms von der Leyen said in a post on X after a call with Mr Zelensky.

“Ukraine can count on our support to deliver progress on its European path,” she added.

Russia has inaugurated a new regular air service between Moscow and Pyongyang, a development underscoring the deepening relationship between the two nations.

The inaugural flight, operated by Russian carrier Nordwind, departed Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport yesterday with more than 400 passengers aboard. Russia’s transport ministry confirmed plans for one monthly flight to accommodate demand.

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, who visited North Korea’s new Wonsan-Kalma beach resort earlier this month to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, promised to encourage Russian tourists to visit the complex.

Polish and allied aircraft were activated in the early hours today to ensure the safety of Polish airspace after Russia launched missiles strikes targeting western Ukraine, near the border with the Poland, the Operational Command of the Polish armed forces said.

At 1.30am GMT, most of Ukraine was under air raid alerts following Ukrainian Air Force warnings of Russian missile and drone attacks.

Russia was forced to scale down the festivities honouring its navy as continuing Ukrainian drone attacks posed a challenge.

Russian authorities cancelled the parades of warships in St Petersburg, in the Kaliningrad region on the Baltic and in the far-eastern port of Vladivostok that are usually held to mark the annual Navy Day celebrations.

Asked about the reason for the cancellation of the parade in St Petersburg even as president Vladimir Putin arrived in his home city to visit the navy headquarters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “it’s linked to the overall situation, security reasons, which are above all else”.