Ukraine says it destroys 11 Russia-launched drones
Russia launched 13 attack drones and a barrage of missiles at Ukraine overnight, with air defence systems destroying 11 drones as well as two guided missiles over several regions, Ukraine’s air force said on Monday.
In total, Russia launched 13 attack drones, four of the Kh-59 guided air missile, one air-to-surface Kh-31P missile and ballistic missiles, the Ukraine’s force said on the Telegram messaging app.
It was not immediately clear how many ballistic missiles Russia reportedly launched or what happened to the missiles and drones that were not downed.
Russia says its forces are stopping Ukraine from crossing Dnipro near Krynky
Russia’s defence ministry said on Tuesday that its forces were preventing Ukranian forces from crossing from the right bank of the Dnipro river, near the village of Krynky in Ukraine’s Kherson region, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
Hungary’s parliament ratifies Sweden’s NATO bid
Hungary’s parliament has voted to ratify Sweden’s bid to join NATO, ending more than 18 months of delays that frustrated the alliance as it sought to expand in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The vote – which passed with 188 votes for and six against – was the culmination of months of wrangling by Hungary’s allies to convince its nationalist government to lift its block on Sweden’s membership.
Unanimous support among NATO members is required to admit new countries, and Hungary was the last of the alliance’s 31 members to give its backing since Turkey ratified the request last month.
Hungary’s decision paved the way for the second expansion of NATO’s ranks in a year after both Sweden and Finland applied to join the alliance in May 2022.
Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson said his country was “now leaving 200 years of neutrality and nonalignment behind us.”
“It is a big step, we must take that seriously. But it is also a very natural step that we are taking. NATO membership means that we’ve found a new home within a large number of democracies which work together for peace and freedom,” he said.