Post-strike effort continues in Chernihiv

Rescuers continued to work on Sunday in the rubble of the centre of Chernihiv, in northern Ukraine, which was hit by a Russian missile that killed at least seven people and injured more than 140, an attack described as “appalling” by the United Nations.

The day after the deadly strike, a Ukrainian drone attack on a railway station left five people slightly injured in Kursk, a Russian town around 90km from the border, and another drone was shot down as it headed towards Moscow, according to Russian authorities.

“At the moment, work to clear the city centre is continuing, construction machinery is at work (…) All the surrounding buildings are being inspected to assess the extent of the damage,” the governor of the Chernihiv region, Vyacheslav Chaus, wrote on Telegram on Sunday morning.

Seven people died and 148 were injured, 41 of whom were still in hospital on Sunday, the governor said. The previous evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy put the number of injured at 144.

Zelenskyy posts debrief on Sweden visit

Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday visited NATO candidate Sweden for the first time since Russia invaded his country, a trip on which he discussed various matters including military supplies.

His discussions with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson revolved around the preparation of the 13th Swedish military aid package, which includes the joint production of Swedish CV90 light tanks, Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.

“We will do everything possible to ensure that the first CV90s are produced in Ukraine as soon as possible,” he added. “Everything we need right now, we have to locate and manufacture. And we will do it.”

On the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Zelenskyy thanked the Swedish side for their contribution not only to Ukraine’s security but to the acceleration of its integration into European political structures. 

Russia claims to have thwarted Moscow drone strike

Moscow said on Sunday it had foiled a Ukrainian drone attack targeting Moscow and its region, the second in two days, at a time when such assaults on Russian soil are on the rise as part of a counter-offensive by Kiev’s forces.

“At around 04:00, an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist drone attack on infrastructure in Moscow and the Moscow region was thwarted,” the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement.

“There were no casualties or damage,” it added.

The drone was flying “in the direction of Moscow”, the Russian army said, adding that it “crashed in an uninhabited area”.

The mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, praised the military for their work in intercepting the drone on Telegram.

Flights to the international airports of Vnukovo and Domodedovo were “temporarily restricted” during the night, said the Russian transport agency Rosaviatsia, quoted by the Ria Novosti news agency, before a rapid return to “normal”.

According to the governor of the Kursk region, Roman Starovoït, a drone “crashed on the roof of the railway station, after which a fire broke out”.

Further south, in the Rostov region, two drones were reportedly intercepted by Russian anti-aircraft defence.

“They fell on the territory of a military unit in Kamensk, and the other, one kilometre north of Novoshakhtinsk”, said announced regional governor Vasily Golubev, without giving further details of the targets. “There were no casualties or damage.”