Russian-Ukrainian War Live: Russia reports drone attacks near Moscow and Ukrainian border | Ukraine

Welcome to our live coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. My name is Christine Kearney and here is an overview of the latest key developments.

Russia has reported a new series of drone attacks on its territory which authorities say killed at least one person in a region bordering Ukraine and again forced the temporary closure of three major airports serving the capital. Moscow.

One person was killed by shrapnel from a drone over the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine in southwestern Russia, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on the Telegram messaging app.

The Russian Defense Ministry also reported drone attacks in the Bryansk region in western Russia, as well as another in the Kursk region just south of it.

Ukraine has not commented on the reported attacks.

Separately, the Ukrainian Air Force reports that three Ukrainian military pilots, including one surnamed Juice who was campaigning for the supply of F-16s, were killed on Friday when two combat training jets collided in the air. above an area west of Kiev.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who is counting on rapid crew training to fly F-16 fighter jets promised by Western allies, said in his nightly video address that among the three men was Andriy Pilshchykov, callsign Juice, “an officer Ukrainian, one of those who have greatly helped our state.

We will come back to these two stories soon. In other news:

• Vladimir Putin ordered Wagner fighters to sign an oath of allegiance to the Russian state after the plane crash which, according to the Kremlin, killed Eugene Prigojine, leader of the mercenary group.

• Joe Biden said US officials are trying to determine how Prigozhin’s plane was shot down, leaving no survivors.. Russia criticized Biden for expressing lack of surprise over Prigozhin’s death and said it was not appropriate for Washington to make such remarks.

• Ukrainian air defense systems reported a night Russian air attack on the outskirts of Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine., the Kyiv military administration said on the Telegram messaging app. No information was immediately available on the scale of the attack, possible damage or casualties.

• Pope Francis urged young Russians to be ‘sowers of seeds of reconciliation’ in a virtual address to a congregation of 400 in St. Petersburg gathered for the annual Catholic Youth Day.

• Russian forces struck a cafe in a key area of ​​Ukraine’s northeastern front line, killing two civilians and wounding a third, regional officials said. The bombardment near the town of Kupyansk came as British officials warned that Russia could attempt to retake the area.

• US journalist Evan Gershkovich has appealed a Russian court’s decision to extend his pre-trial detention for three months after being detained for espionage, which he denies, according to documents released by a Moscow court. Unlike many Western journalists, he had continued to cover Russia during Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine.

• The German magazine Der Spiegel has published a long and detailed investigation into the attack on the Nord Stream gas pipeline. He quotes German investigators – who are carrying out “the most important investigation in post-war German history because of its potential political implications” – and reports that “a striking number of clues point to Ukraine “.