Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv in plea to allies after Ukraine hit by huge Russian drone and missile attack

Last week’s alert at a NATO base in Germany housing the Western alliance’s fleet of AWACS surveillance planes was due to a potential drone threat, a security source said on Monday.

Geilenkirchen air base in western Germany raised its security level to “Charlie” – the second highest of four – during most of Friday.

German news agency dpa, citing security sources, said there had been a tip-off from a foreign intelligence service about a possible Russian act of sabotage.

But the security source told Reuters no drones had been seen and could not confirm any evidence of a Russian role.

“The word Russia was never mentioned. We talked about a threat caused by drones,” added a NATO spokesperson at Geilenkirchen.

The German government press office, the interior ministry and Moscow’s embassy in Berlin did not immediately comment on the media report of a Russian threat.

Western forces are on high alert amid widespread reports from intelligence services and Western media of possible Russian acts of sabotage against nations supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia.

Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, has rejected the assertions and accuses the West of aggression towards it.

Last week, Geilenkirchen base also raised the security level after a nearby military base was temporarily sealed off as authorities investigated possible sabotage to the water supply.

An object flew into Polish airspace during Russia’s attack on Ukraine on Monday and probably landed on Polish territory, state news agency PAP reported, citing the Polish army’s operational command.

PAP reported that searches for the object, which was not a missile, were underway.

The Kremlin said on Monday it did not know what Telegram founder Pavel Durov, arrested by French police on Saturday, was accused of, and said Russia would wait for an official statement on his detention before commenting further.

Durov, the Russia-born billionaire owner of the Telegram messaging app, was detained at Le Bourget airport outside the French capital shortly after landing on a private jet late on Saturday, three sources told Reuters.

“We do not yet know what exactly Durov is accused of,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a news briefing.

“We have not yet heard any official statement on the matter, and before we say anything, we should wait for the situation to be clarified.

“With what exactly are they trying to incriminate Durov? Without (knowing), it would probably be wrong to make any statements,” Peskov said.

Durov was still in detention on Monday and was being questioned by police, French media reported. Paris has not officially confirmed his arrest.

Durov, who has dual French and United Arab Emirates citizenship, was arrested as part of a preliminary police investigation into allegedly allowing a wide range of crimes to be committed using his platform due to a lack of moderators on Telegram and a lack of cooperation with police, a French police source told Reuters over the weekend.

The encrypted Telegram app, based in Dubai, has close to 1 billion users and is particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the former Soviet Union.

Durov himself left Russia in 2014 after he refused to comply with demands to shut down opposition communities on the VKontakte social media platform, which he also founded and has since sold.

Peskov on Monday said Russian President Vladimir Putin had not met Durov last week in Baku, where the Kremlin leader was on a state visit.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia used more than 100 missiles and about 100 drones in Monday’s strike on Ukraine.

“A lot of damage in the energy sector,” he said on Telegram.

Zelenskiy called on allies to stick to agreements to supply air defence systems and missiles. He also said that Ukraine and partners should make a joint air defence agreement to shoot down Russian drones and missiles.

The Kremlin said on Monday that there would have to be a Russian response to Ukraine’s incursion into the western Kursk region and that the idea of ceasefire talks with Kyiv was no longer relevant.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that such hostile actions could not go without a response.

The Kremlin also said that Moscow and Kyiv had held no ceasefire talks and that the topic of negotiations with Ukraine has “pretty much lost its relevance”.

The Russian military has said it used high-precision weapons to strike important energy infrastructure in Ukraine that supports the military-industrial complex, according to Russian news agency Interfax.

Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff has called on Kyiv’s allies to allow long-range strikes on Russia.

It comes after Moscow’s large-scale attack against Ukraine on Monday morning.

Energy facilities in at least three Ukrainian regions were hit in a massive Russian attack on Monday morning, regional officials said.

Authorities in Zaporizhzhia, Rivne, and Lviv regions said on Telegram that energy infrastructure in their areas came under attack.

Local officials in several other regions reported that energy facilities and critical infrastructure were targeted well.

Ukraine’s air defences shot down approximately 15 missiles and 15 drones targeting the capital of Kyiv during Russia’s overnight attack on Monday, Serhiy Popko, the head of the Kyiv military administration, said via the Telegram messaging app.

Ukraine’s foreign minister called on allies to agree to shoot down Russian drones and missiles over Ukrainian territory after a massive Russian strike on Monday.

Dmytro Kuleba said on X that “agreeing to use partners’ air defence capabilities to shoot down missiles and drones close to their airspace” would help to end Russian attacks on Ukraine sooner.