Ukraine updates: Ukrainian air force says drones shot down

Investigators searched the offices of an EU parliament employee in Brussels and Strasbourg as part of a probe into suspected Russian interference and corruption, Belgian prosecutors said. 

The employee "played a significant role" in approaching and paying EU lawmakers to promote Russian propaganda via the pro-Kremlin website Voice of Europe (VoE), according to the prosecution.

The searches were part of a broader operation concerning a "case of interference, passive corruption and membership of a criminal organization," Belgian state prosecutors said. 

An investigation was announced last month by Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo. He said his country's intelligence service had confirmed the existence of a network trying to undermine support for Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is arriving in the Moldovan capital of Chisinau on Wednesday. It is the first stop of a short European tour during which he will seek to shore up Western support for Ukraine among NATO allies and neighboring countries.

The US top diplomat's trip comes as Ukraine is trying to fend off intensifying Russian attacks in the east and as President Vladimir Putin warns that allowing Kyiv to use Western weapons to hit inside Russia would trigger a global conflict.

In Chisinau, Blinken is due to meet President Maia Sandu and other senior officials, at a time when US officials say the country is facing Russian "influence operations."

Polish security services have arrested a man suspected of trying to get photos of military vehicles crossing the border into Ukraine.

The Ukrainian man, named as Oleksandr D., sent messages to a Polish citizen encouraging him to help foreign intelligence services, according to Jacek Dobrzynski, the spokesman for the minister coordinating special services.

The 26-year-old Ukrainian man was suspected of encouraging a Pole to share the photos and "take part in the activities of foreign intelligence against the Republic of Poland," the spokesperson added.

Poland says that being a hub for supplies delivered to Ukraine has made it a key target for Russian spies trying to gather information on support for Kyiv's war effort.

Sweden has pledged 13.3 billion kronor (€1.16 billion or $1.26 billion) in military aid to Ukraine, as Kyiv struggles with multiple delays in vital Western military support in the third year of its war with Russia.

"Sweden is supporting Ukraine with its 16th aid package, its largest to date, worth 13.3 billion kronor," Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch told reporters.

The Scandinavian country, which formally joined NATO in March, will donate a range of material, including ASC 890 surveillance aircraft, Rb 99 medium-range air-to-air missiles and artillery ammunition, as well as all of its model 302 armored infantry fighting vehicles.

Defense Minister Pal Jonson, who also participated in the press conference via video link, added that the ASC 890 surveillance aircraft would be particularly useful for Ukraine's air defense, allowing it to "identify incoming cruise missiles and drones and identify targets both on the ground and at sea." 

Ukraine's air force said that it had shot down 13 of 14 drones launched by Russia in an overnight attack on three regions.

Debris from the drones fell on energy infrastructure in Ukraine's northwestern Rivne region, governor Oleksandr Koval said on messaging platform Telegram. The attack triggered a defense mechanism that cut power to some localities. It has since been restored.

Drone debris also damaged power lines in the central Kirovohrad region, its governor said adding that repairs were underway. 

The air force shot down 11 drones over the Mykolaiv region, but the local governor gave no details of the damage.

Meanwhile, Veniamin Kondratyev, the governor of Russia's southern Krasnodar region, said on Telegram that Russian air defenses destroyed a Ukrainian drone over the city of Armavir.

dh/rmt (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)