Ukraine-Russia war latest: Moscow launches ‘largest overnight bombardment’ of war so far – UK Times

A Ukrainian drone strike, among the deepest into Russia in more than three years of the war, forced a temporary suspension of production at an electronics company in the Volga river region of Chuvashia, the head of the region said on Monday.

The strike, some 1,300 km (800 miles) from the border with Ukraine, caused no casualties, Chuvashia Governor Oleg Nikolayev said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

But “the responsible decision was made to temporarily suspend production to ensure the safety of employees” of the VNIIR enterprise where the drones fell, Nikolayev said.

It was not immediately clear whether the drones caused any damage. Nikolayev said that another drone fell onto some fields in the area of the capital of the region, Cheboksary.

Ukraine’s military said in a Telegram statement on Monday that “at least two drones” hit the VNIIR facility that specialises in manufacturing navigation equipment used in attack drones, guided aerial bombs and high-precision weapons.

The Ukrainian military said the drone attack sparked a large -scale fire at the VNIIR plant.

Reports about the attack could not be independently verified.

Britain is already at war with Russia, one of the authors of the government’s strategic defence review has warned, while arguing that the UK can no longer rely on the US as a dependable ally.

Political Correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

Trump had previously asserted he could resolve the war “in 24 hours” upon assuming office. However, more than three years after Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion, a resolution remains elusive.

Usyk, a former undisputed world champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions, conveyed a grim depiction of life in Ukraine, emphasising the necessity for Trump to develop a more profound understanding of the situation.

“I advise American president Donald Trump to go to Ukraine and live in my house for one week, only one week,” Usyk, the WBC, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion, told the BBC.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a new naval strategy which aims to fully restore Russia’s position as one of the world’s leading maritime powers, Kremlin aide Nikolai Patrushev said in an interview published on Monday.

Russia has the world’s third most powerful navy after China and the United States, according to most public rankings, though the navy has suffered a series of high-profile losses in the Ukraine war.

Patrushev said the new naval strategy – entitled “The Strategy for the Development of the Russian Navy up to 2050” – had been approved by Putin in late May.

“Russia’s position as one of the world’s greatest maritime powers is gradually recovering,” Patrushev told the Argumenti i Fakti newspaper in an interview.

“It is impossible to carry out such work without a long-term vision of the scenarios for the development of the situation in the oceans, the evolution of challenges and threats, and, of course, without defining the goals and objectives facing the Russian Navy,” Patrushev said.

Patrushev gave no further details about the strategy, though Russia is believed to have ramped up spending on defence and security to Cold War levels as a percentage of gross domestic product.

The Ukrainian military said on Monday that it had struck two planes at Russia’s Savasleyka airfield overnight.

“According to preliminary information, two enemy aircraft (presumably MiG-31 and Su-30/34 aircraft) were struck,” the military said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine will do “everything possible to secure the release of our POWs and the return of our fallen warriors.”

He said that Russia had yet to provide a full list of exchange for over one thousand people.

“The full lists from Russia for the exchange of over one thousand people, as agreed in Istanbul, have still not been provided.

“In typical fashion, the Russian side is once again trying to turn even these matters into a dirty political and information game.

“For our part, we are doing everything we can to keep the exchange track moving forward.”

Ukraine’s air force said on Monday that Russia had used 479 drones and 20 missiles during an overnight assault whose targets included an airfield. This is one of the biggest attacks of the whole war so far.

The air force downed 460 of the drones and 19 of the missiles, including four Kinzhal missiles, it said in a statement. The air force added that it had recorded hits in 10 locations and debris falling in 17 locations.