Ukraine updates: Pro-Kyiv volunteers attack western Russia

Several thousand people demonstrated against the Slovak government and its foreign policy at a pro-Ukraine rally in Bratislava. 

The rally on Freedom Square in front of the Slovak government building was organized by the "Peace to Ukraine" initiative, which advocates strong military support for the neighboring country, which has been under Russian attack for more than two years.

The demonstrators accused the three-party government of left-wing populist Prime Minister Robert Fico of pursuing a "pro-Russian policy."

One of the spokespersons for the initiative, Rastislav Kalnovic, said in his speech: "It is essential to emphasize that we refuse to be collaborators with a belligerent Russia. We refuse to be partners of a totalitarian regime." 

After Fico took office in October, Slovakia halted state arms supplies to Ukraine. 

The lives of thousands of people in Ukraine depend on the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, calling a vote on a bill that would provide $60 billion (€55 billion) in aid to Kyiv, said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk during a visit to Washington.

"I hope that the voice from Poland, the voice from Europe will change the attitude of... Mr Johnson," Tusk told reporters.

"He must be aware... that the fate of millions of people depends on his individual decisions, and thousands of lives in Ukraine today and tomorrow depend on his decisions," the Polish prime minister added.

Tusk is visiting the US with his political rival, Polish President Andrzej Duda. 

The Polish leaders met with US President Joe Biden at the White House to take stock of the security situation and what recent Russian territorial gains in Ukraine could mean for the tense region.

Ukrainian authorities reported that at least three people have been killed, and 38 injured, in a Russian missile attack targeting the city of Kryvyi Rih.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was born in the central Ukrainian city, said the strike had hit a nine-story apartment building.

Zelenskyy offered condolences during his regular evening address.

"We will inflict losses on the Russian state in response, quite rightly. They in the Kremlin must learn that terror does not go unpunished for them," he said.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Tuesday announced that the US would be providing a small package of emergency military aid for Ukraine, bypassing Congress after its more permanent plans to assist Kyiv have been stalled in Congress for several months. 

"Today, on behalf of President Biden, I'm announcing an emergency package of security assistance and $300 million worth of weapons and equipment to address some of Ukraine's pressing needs," Sullivan told reporters.

You can read the story in full here. 

Schools in the Russian city of Kursk are switching to online classes following an incursion into the region by pro-Ukrainian armed groups.

"In connection with recent events, I have taken the decision to put schools on remote learning," Kursk Mayor Igor Kutsak said in a social media post.

The announcement comes after pro-Ukrainian armed groups made up of Russian volunteers crossed into the Kursk region and fought with Russian forces in the border village of Tyotkino. The settlement lies around 170 kilometers (105 miles) southwest of the regional capital.

The Kursk region also came under attack from Ukrainian drones overnight.

An armed group made up of Russian volunteers fighting for Ukraine says it has captured the village of Tyotkino in Russia's western Kursk region.

Russia's Defense Ministry earlier claimed to have repelled the attack.

"The settlement of Tyotkino in the Kursk region is entirely under the control of Russian liberation forces," the Freedom of Russia Legion said in a post on social media.

It claimed that Russian forces were withdrawing from the village. The information has not been independently verified.

Russia said one of its Il-76 military cargo planes crashed shortly after takeoff from an airfield northeast of Moscow on Tuesday.

"An Il-76 military transport aviation plane crashed in the Ivanovo region while taking off to perform a scheduled flight. On board were eight crew members and seven passengers," the defense ministry said.

It added an engine fire during takeoff was the likely cause of the crash in the the Ivanovo region, around 200 kilometers (125 miles) east of Moscow.

According to online reports, there were no survivors.

Multiple unverified videos and photographs of a falling aircraft circulated on Russian social networks.

Tuesday's crash came on a day when the Defense Ministry reported dozens of attacks on Russia by Ukrainian drones. In the past, Ukrainian drones have hit some military air bases deep inside Russia.

Russia says its forces have captured the village of Nevelske in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.

Russian troops have recently made other gains in the region, which the Kremlin claimed to have annexed in 2022.

Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces had taken up "more favorable lines and positions" after capturing the village.

Ukraine's general staff said in a routine morning update from the front line that Russian attacks on the area of Nevelske had been repelled.

Donetsk has seen some of the worst fighting of Russia's military offensive in Ukraine.

Russian volunteers fighting for Ukraine say they have launched a cross-border attack on Russian territory.

The Freedom of Russia Legion said it had "destroyed" a Russian armored military vehicle in the village of Tyotkino in Russia's western Kursk region.

Kursk borders Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region.

The Sibir Battalion group said: "As promised, we are bringing freedom and justice to our Russian land."

Russia's Defense Ministry said it repelled the volunteer forces after inflicting significant losses on them.

Kursk Governor Roman Starovoyt confirmed that there had been fighting in Tyotkino.

"There was a gun battle, but no breakthrough," he said in a Telegram post.

A spokesman for Ukraine's military intelligence, Andriy Yusov, said the groups were not acting under orders from Kyiv.

"On the territory of the Russian Federation, they act absolutely autonomously, on their own, and pursue their social and political program tasks," Yusov said.

US President Joe Biden is meeting with Poland's President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Tuesday to affirm US support for NATO and discuss concerns over Russia's war in Ukraine.

In the meeting at the White House, Duda is expected to ask Biden to send more US troops to NATO's eastern flank.

While the Biden administration's foreign policy supports Ukraine, the US president shot down the idea, saying there is "no need for more troops at the Polish border."

The visit comes amid a deadlock in Washington over Ukraine funding. House Republicans haveblocked a multibillion-dollar bipartisan package, which included $60 billion (€54.87 billion) for Ukraine.

Meanwhile, former US President Donald Trump has threatened to slash Ukraine funding if elected and encouraged Russia to invade NATO countries that fail to pay their dues.

Eastern European countries, including Poland, fear that Russia could strike a NATO nation next if Ukraine falls.

President Duda has advocated for NATO member states to increase defense spending to 3% of GDP, highlighting Poland's commitment with a 4% spending rate — double the current NATO target of 2%.

In a recent opinion piece in The Washington Post, Duda highlighted that Russia was spending close to 30% of its annual budget on defense. He said the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin "poses the biggest threat to global peace since the end of the Cold War."

A fuel depot in the western Russian city of Oryol was hit by a drone strike, causing a fire, the regional governor said early Tuesday. It was one of several Ukrainian attacks overnight.

"A fuel and energy complex facility was attacked. Special services are working on the spot to contain the fire. There were no casualties," regional governor Andrey Klychkov wrote on the messaging app Telegram.

Local media reported that the attack occurred at around 3:00 a.m. local time (0000 GMT). According to an emergency services official quoted by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, a tank with oil products caught fire.

An oil processing unit in the town of Kstovo in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region was also on fire after a drone attack, Gleb Nikitin, governor of the region, said.

Russia's air defense systems, meanwhile, also destroyed a Ukraine-launched drone flying towards Moscow, Mayor Sergein Sobyanin said.

Ukrainian drones also attacked the Russian region of Belgorod, near the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, on Monday night, causing no injuries, according to the region's governor.

Reconstruction of Ukraine's scientific infrastructure will cost more than $1.26 billion (€1.15 billion), the UN's scientific and cultural organization said.

According to a UNESCO study, 1,443 buildings and laboratories belonging to 177 scientific institutions have been destroyed.

In addition to the buildings themselves, over 750 pieces of scientific and technical equipment have been damaged, with 643 items damaged beyond repair. This includes equipment used in a wide range of research activities.

The war, now in its third year, has also depleted the science sector of funds and dispersed Ukraine's scientists, displacing many within the country and sending others into exile.

The situation around the Institute for Safety Problems of Nuclear Power Plants, near the Russia-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine's southeast, is of particular concern, the report said.

The institute's essential equipment for monitoring the nuclear industry has been stolen or destroyed, representing a safety threat in the region and beyond, the report added.

dh/jsi (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)