Ukraine has launched coordinated drone attacks on Russian energy infrastructure across multiple regions overnight. The most significant strike hit Taganrog, Rostov Oblast, where a major port fire broke out after drones hit a tanker, fuel tank and administrative building, Russia's RIA Novosti state media agency reported. "A tanker, a fuel tank, and an administrative building caught fire at the port of Taganrog as a result of a drone attack," Slyusar wrote. "According to preliminary information, there are no casualties. The information is being clarified."

Belgium and France have summoned Russia's ambassadors to express anger after Moscow urged foreigners to leave Kyiv in advance of planned "systematic strikes". Brussels and Paris said on Wednesday that Russia's announcement earlier in the week was "unacceptable" and a violation of international law. The spat is unlikely to help smooth the way for the EU to mediate talks to bring the conflict to an end, an arrangement that Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he is ready to accept. Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and the European Union summoned Russian envoys on Tuesday following Moscow's warning that foreigners and diplomats should leave the Ukrainian capital before the onset of renewed air strikes . "Threatening embassies is not diplomacy, it is intimidation. And it is a flagrant violation of international law and the Vienna Convention," Belgium Foreign Minister Maxim Prevot said on Wednesday.

Recent weeks have seen a significant escalation of military tensions in and around the Baltics. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, which are all NATO members, now experience regular incursions into their airspace by Ukrainian drones. According to both Kyiv and the Baltic capitals, those drones, en route to hit targets in western Russia, get diverted by Russian electronic jamming and end up entering these countries' territories. In early May, several stray unmanned aircraft crashed in Latvia, one of them damaging an oil storage facility. Those developments triggered a political crisis in Latvia and led to the collapse of its government.

VILNIUS/STOCKHOLM/LONDON - Ukrainian drones have strayed into Baltic countries' airspace in recent weeks, sowing confusion and raising tensions with Russia at a time when U.S. commitment to NATO's collective security is in question. The airspace incursions have occurred as Ukraine, seeking to land heavier blows on Russia four years after Moscow's full-scale invasion, uses exploding drones to hit Russian Baltic ports that handle nearly 40% of national oil and gas exports. In most cases, Kyiv and the Baltic states have confirmed the stray drones are Ukrainian but have blamed Russia for causing them to deviate from their flight path with the use of electronic defenses that jam or spoof signals. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

'Leave Kyiv': Why Russia's latest Ukraine threat is a major escalation Russia has urged foreigners to leave in Ukraine's capital Kyiv, and warned of more strikes on the city, suggesting a major escalation in its more-than-four-year-long war on Ukraine. In a statement issued on Monday, Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it planned to target "decision-making centres and command posts" and drone manufacturing facilities in the Ukrainian city in a series of strikes. The ministry's statement also urged Kyiv residents to avoid all military and administrative infrastructure facilities in the capital, which could be potential targets. A later statement said that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had advised US Secretary of State Marco Rubio of the plan and urged him to evacuate his embassy staff from Kyiv. Moscow said these planned strikes were in response to a drone strike on a student dormitory in Starobilsk, in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region of Ukraine, which killed at least 18 people. The threats come just days after Russian drone and rocket strikes on Kyiv on Saturday night killed at least four people and injured about 100 others.

Russia has threatened to launch a fresh wave of systematic strikes against Kyiv, days after carrying out one of its largest attacks on the Ukrainian capital since the start of the war. The new strikes will target decision-making centres and command posts, alongside drone manufacturing facilities in the city, Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement. Moscow has called for foreign nationals and diplomats to leave Kyiv as soon as possible and warned citizens to stay away from administrative and military buildings. Large-scale Russian strikes on Saturday night killed four and injured about 100 people in Kyiv and other areas, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Moscow said that barrage and threatened further strikes were in response to what it claims was a deliberate Ukrainian attack on a student dormitory in the town of Starobilsk on Friday, in which Russian officials said 21 people were killed.

Russia warns foreigners to leave Kyiv as it prepares'systematic strikes' Russia has warned it plans to launch a "series of systematic strikes" on defence industrial facilities in Kyiv, and urged foreign citizens to leave the Ukrainian capital. In a statement, the Ministry of Defence said the strikes are in response to a Ukrainian drone attack last week that struck a student dorm in Starobilsk in the occupied Luhansk region, killing at least 18 people. Moscow, which launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour four years ago and claims four of Ukraine's eastern regions as its own, has branded those attacks as "terrorism" and responded with large missile and drone launches. The Russian Foreign Ministry said in Monday's statement that the strike on Starobilsk signalled "the last straw" and that Russia will launch a systematic series of strikes in response, which will target "specific sites where UAVs are designed, manufactured, programmed, and prepared for use". Noting that such facilities "are scattered throughout Kyiv," the statement said it was warning "foreign citizens, including personnel of diplomatic missions and international organisations, to leave the city as soon as possible".

Zelenskyy says'time is right' for Ukraine to start process of joining EU Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told European Union leaders that now is the time to begin the process of Ukraine's accession to the bloc, describing a proposal for associate membership as "unfair". Zelenskyy said in a letter to EU leaders on Friday that associate membership would leave Ukraine "voiceless" because it would not have voting rights, which would prevent Kyiv from advancing its interests, the Reuters news agency reported. Under Orban, who maintained close ties with Russia, Budapest repeatedly used its veto power to block Ukraine's accession bid and stalled approval of aid for Kyiv. Zelenskyy's push for EU membership comes as both Kyiv and Moscow seek to advance their interests on the battlefield. The head of the Russian-occupied Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine said on Saturday the death toll from a drone attack a day earlier had risen to 10. Vladimir Putin has ordered his forces to respond to the attack, which allegedly hit a student dormitory in the town of Starobilsk.

This week, with air raid warnings wailing in the distance, Kyiv held a funeral for two sisters. They had already lost their father who had been fighting on the front line. Their grieving mother is now the family's sole survivor. This is the human cost of the largest sustained Russian aerial assault so far - with 1,500 drones and 56 missiles fired at Ukraine within 48 hours. But the loss of life could have been even higher.

Ukrainian mid-range strikes deal double blow to Russia's war effort KYIV/LONDON - From burning oil refineries to a stalling ground offensive, Russia is suffering problems in its war against Ukraine that partly stem from a growing Ukrainian military strength: the use of medium-range drone attacks. By targeting Russian air defenses and logistics dozens of kilometers behind front lines, Ukraine is disrupting Russia's battlefield advances and opening the way for long-range strikes on Russian oil and military facilities, said two Ukrainian commanders, two drone specialists and three military analysts. Ukrainian officials say more resources have in recent months been poured into "middle strikes," typically ranging between 30 kilometers and 180 km behind front lines. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.