Today, Moscow denied Kiev's claims that Ukrainian air defenses shot down six Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missiles.
"Russia did not launch as many Kinzhal missiles as the Ukrainians say they shot down," Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told the Ria Novosti news agency.
He said that the number of so-called Ukrainian intercepts was three times higher than the number of missiles fired by Russia, his press service reported via Telegram.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov said this morning that Ukrainian forces shot down six Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missiles during the night attack on Kiev, at a time when Russian attacks intensified again.
Reznikov said that another success of the Ukrainian Air Force was achieved.
In a video address at the Council of Europe summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said tonight that 100 percent of the Russian rockets fired the previous night at Ukrainian territory were intercepted.
The deputy chief of staff of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Igor Zhovkva, said today that Ukraine does not have enough military equipment to launch a counter-offensive against Russia.
"In order to start a counteroffensive, the result of which is the liberation of Ukrainian territories, you need enough artillery systems and ammunition. You need armored vehicles and tanks. We want this counteroffensive to be as successful as possible," said an associate of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
He said that Zelenski visited European neighbors, as well as Great Britain, Germany and Italy with the "main goal of asking for additional military assistance", reports Sky News.
"Unfortunately, the level of equipment we have is not yet sufficient to start a counteroffensive," said Žovkva.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said today that the presidents of Russia and Ukraine have agreed to discuss a plan to end the war in Ukraine with a delegation of African heads of state in separate meetings.
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Asked what he thinks about Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky hosting African leaders in Moscow and Kyiv, Zhovkva replied that the only suitable solution is Ukrainian.
"The war is being fought on the territory of Ukraine. Therefore, the only acceptable plan is and will be the Ukrainian plan. We are ready to listen to the proposals of the states. We know about Chinese ideas. Last Sunday, a representative of the Brazilian president visited Kiev. But the only plan that Ukraine would implement is Zelensky's plan ", he said.
(Beta)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited four European countries, including Germany, and again demanded that his country receive warplanes. The head of the Bundestag's defense committee, Marie-Agnes Strak-Zimmerman, again rejected the request.
Strak-Zimmermanova told Deutschlandunk on Tuesday that she "does not see" Tornado and Eurofighter fighters over Ukraine.
"Simply, the problem is the range of the aircraft and the complexity of the training," she said, adding that she supports sending other fighters, such as the Soviet MiG from former Eastern European stocks, and the American F-16.
"We can offer Zelenski bases in Germany that service F-16s," explained the liberal FDP politician.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron, who promised to train Ukrainian pilots on Monday, but did not specify on which plane, abstained from Zelenskiy's requests.
On Sunday, Germany promised Zelenski a new military aid package worth 2,7 billion euros.
When asked where more tanks came from, Štrak-Zimmermanova answered that Germany can buy them "from countries that don't need them". "I think it's perfectly fine, in that case they come from Germany, where they were produced," she said.
(dpa)
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said today that the presidents of Russia and Ukraine have agreed to discuss a plan to end the war in Ukraine with a delegation of African heads of state in separate meetings.
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Ukraine announced today that it has retaken 20 square kilometers north and south of Bakhmut as Russian troops continue to advance in the city itself, the epicenter of the fighting.
"In recent days, our troops have liberated about 20 square kilometers on the northern and southern outskirts of Bahmut. At the same time, the enemy is advancing in Bahmut itself, completely destroying the city with artillery," Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Gana Maliar wrote via Telegram.
Despite its strategic importance, which experts dispute, Bakhmut has become a symbol of the struggle for control of the industrial region of Donbass, which consists of the regions of Lugansk and Donetsk. Russia annexed those regions but did not take full control over the area.
The Russian army confirmed today that it carried out a missile attack on military facilities in Ukraine during the night, claiming that it "hit all the targets", while the Ukrainian forces announced earlier today that they shot down all the Russian missiles.
(BETA)
Ukrainian forces shot down all 18 missiles of different types that Russia launched at that country during the night, said the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhnyi.
"Russia launched six 'kinzhal' ballistic missiles from aircraft, nine 'Caliber' cruise missiles from ships in the Black Sea and three land-based 'Iskander' missiles," Zaluzhnyi said on Telegram.
The Air Force of Ukraine said that six Iranian-made Shahed drones and three reconnaissance drones were also shot down.
Reuters says it has not yet been able to independently verify the report.
Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said that debris from rockets fired by Ukrainian forces overnight over the country's capital set fire to several cars and damaged a building in the Solomyansk district in the west of the capital, injuring three people.
As reported by Reuters, Klitschko said that south of Boryspil, air defense systems repel drone attacks. Boryspil, a city southeast of Kyiv, is home to the capital's main passenger airport, which is now closed.
Damage in other districts is not significant and there is no immediate information on potential casualties there, the military administration said.
Air raid sirens went off across almost all of Ukraine in the early hours of Tuesday morning, and could be heard over Kiev and the region for more than three hours.
Russia launched an extremely intense airstrike on Kiev overnight, using drones, cruise missiles and possibly ballistic missiles, city officials said, after the Ukrainian capital suffered its eighth airstrike this month.
"It was exceptional in its density, more precisely in the maximum number of rockets for the attack in the shortest period of time," said Sergiy Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration on Telegram, according to Reuters.
As he added, according to preliminary information, the vast majority of enemy missiles in Kyiv's airspace were destroyed.
It was not immediately known how many objects were shot down over the city and whether any of them managed to hit the target.
After a weeks-long hiatus, Russia resumed its long-range missile strike tactics in late April and has launched a series of attacks in recent days, often targeting Kiev. Ukraine has managed to repel the vast majority of attacks so far.
Officials said that on Tuesday, remnants of rockets fell in Kyiv's Obolonsky, Shevchenkovsky, Solomyansky and Darnitsky districts.
War in Ukraine – 446th day. You can see what happened yesterday in Eastern Europe at the link below.
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Bonus video:
