Ukraine-Russia war: US intercepts Russian and Chinese bombers; drone fragments found on NATO soil (2024)

By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent

Vladimir Putin has met Bashar al Assad in Moscow, after a surprise visit from the Syrian president that was announced by the Kremlin this morning.

Footage shared on Telegram by the Russian president's press service showed the two leaders smiling and shaking hands, before sitting down and chatting through their respective interpreters.

"I am very glad to see you," President Putin could be heard gushing to his guest.

Russia has been a key ally for President Assad during the Syrian civil war, helping him regain control over the country following an uprising that began in 2011.

But why is he in Moscow now?

Read the full story here...

Threats to Britain from Russia's invasion of Ukraine are "alive and well" and "no longer a distant possibility", the head of the UK's defence review has said.

Former NATO chief Lord Robertson is leading a "root and branch" review of the UK's armed forces, launched by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, to assess the defence challenges the country faces.

Speaking in the House of Lords today, he pointed to the "depraved conduct" of Russian forces as an example of what was at stake and said it was vital that the UK's military was strong enough to deter any threat.

"We need to recognise... that the threats to our country and our citizens are no longer theoretical. They are no longer a distant possibility," Lord Robertson said.

"They are alive and well in Ukraine today, where Vladimir Putin's Russia has brutally invaded and sought to occupy a peaceful, neighbouring independent nation-state.

"Anybody who needs reminding of what the stakes are in the world today need only look at the depraved conduct of Putin's occupiers in those parts of the Donbas and Crimea that they presently and temporarily occupy."

During a debate on the subject, Lord Stirrup said the UK should not put off increasing defence spending, saying that Mr Putin would "not wait upon our pleasure".

"I suppose we could send him a note saying: 'Dear Vladimir, we know that you're a dire threat to the peace and security of Europe, but would you mind holding off until we get the books straight?' I doubt that he would pay attention," he said.

A peace settlement in the Ukraine war cannot be achieved without Russia and China at the table, Czech President Petr Pavel has said.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been eyeing a second Ukrainian peace summit in November after hosting representatives from 92 countries at the first summit in Switzerland last month aimed at outlining a roadmap for future peace efforts.

Russia was not invited, and said discussing any plans for peace in its absence was a waste of time. China was also absent.

The Ukrainian president said earlier this month that Russia should attend the second meeting if it goes ahead.

Mr Pavel said another summit was "desirable" - but he told Czech news agency CTK that the negotiations would not make sense without Moscow's participation.

"Without Russia and China at the table, there really won't be any peace negotiations," he said.

He also said Beijing should use its status as an "important global player" to urge Russia to move towards peace in the conflict.

The US is looking at establishing logistics hubs in Black Sea countries to speed up the supply of weapons to Kyiv, an aide to Vladimir Putin has said.

Nikolai Patrushev claimed Washington would also seek to deploy modern long-range weapons at the hubs.

Mr Patrushev, the former chair of Russia's security council, also said Moscow had foiled plans by NATO to set up a naval base in the Sea of Azov -a body of water connected to the Black Sea.

He did not specify what time period he was referring to.

There is no indication of a deliberate attack on NATO territory, an alliance spokesperson has said, after alleged Russian drone fragments were found in Romania (see previous post).

However, NATO said it pointed to "irresponsible and potentially dangerous" incidents of Russian drones entering Romanian airspace.

The alliance has ramped up its monitoring and surveillance measures, including air patrols, in recent days, the spokesperson said.

"While NATO has no information indicating any intentional attack by Russia against allied territory, these acts are irresponsible and potentially dangerous", they said in a statement.

A picture has emerged which purports to show fragments of a Russian "Geran" or Shahed drone lying on the ground in a rural Romanian village.

Romania's defence ministry said earlier that parts of what was believed to be a Russian drone were recovered near the Danube River and the country's border with Ukraine.

The discovery followed more attacks by Russia on Ukraine over the past two nights, the ministry said, which prompted Romania to deploy warplanes to monitor its airspace.

The picture below, from Romanian news site G4Media, has not been independently verified.

Ukrainian forces have struck and damaged Russia's last operational rail ferry in the Black Sea, the UK ministry of defence has said.

According to the MoD's latest intelligence update, the Slavyanin ferry was one of three rail ships able to transit the Kerch Strait between Russia and the occupied Crimean peninsula.

Following other Ukrainian strikes on 29 May, Slavyanin "had been put back into service as the only rail RO-RO [roll-on roll-off] ferry", the MoD said.

It added that the ferry was "highly likely" transporting Russian gas to customers in the Black Sea.

"Rendering RO-RO ferries non-operational, even temporarily, imposes increased costs as well as reducing Russia's flexibility to transport fuel, munitions and equipment across the Kerch Strait," the ministry said.

It added that the attacks had likely forced Moscow to "change its security procedures".

A former mayor of the Ukrainian city of Uman has been killed on the front line, according to reports.

Ihor Taburets, the governor of Ukraine's central Cherkasy region, where Uman city is located, reported the news of Oleksandr Tsebrii's death on Telegram and described it as a "heavy loss".

He said Mr Tsebrii died "defending Ukraine".

The former mayor reportedly joined the Ukrainian military shortly after the Russian invasion in February 2022.

The Netherlands and Denmark are set to deliver 14 refurbished Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, the Dutch defence ministry has said.

Both countries in April last year said they would buy the tanks from a third party and get them ready for battle in Ukraine.

The tanks have been completely brought to battlefield standard by German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall after months of testing.

They will be delivered before the end of summer, the ministry said.

"The Leopard 2A4 tanks can help Ukraine gain the upper hand on the battlefield," it said in a statement.

An 18-year-old man has been arrested over the murder of former Ukrainian MP Irina Farion, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.

An unidentified man opened fire on the 60-year-old in the street in the city of Lviv last week, before fleeing the scene.

"An 18-year-old boy has been detained," the president said of the case.

"The necessary investigative actions and examinations are under way [and] I have instructed the minister of internal affairs to provide all the details to the public."

Ms Farion was famed for her work to ensure the Ukrainian language was used in Ukraine, rather than Russian.