Ukraine-Russia war latest: Poland scrambles jets as Putin attacks Kyiv with jet-powered drones

Poland scrambled fighter jets in the early ⁠hours ​of ⁠Tuesday as it responded to Russia 's latest attack on Ukraine involving jet-powered drones.

Ukraine’s Air Force issued several warnings to Ukrainians, asking them to seek shelter as Russian forces fired jet-powered drones across all of Ukraine.

It remains unclear how many drones were fired but at least some of them likely travelled beyond Ukraine's borders, with a Nato fighter jet shooting down a drone in Lithuania shortly after midnight on Tuesday.

Lithuanian officials said the drone likely entered from Belarus and was shot down near Pratkunai village in southern ⁠Lithuania, near Kaunas.

A drone alert was issued earlier in the capital Vilnius and surrounding region.

Military drones straying into the airspace of Russia's neighbours have stoked concerns that Russia's war in Ukraine is spilling over Nato's borders.

This comes as Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv was ready to support a US-led proposal for a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire protecting energy sites – but only if Washington could ensure Moscow was genuinely ready to comply.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he would "expand and deepen" joint work with Russia in a message to Russian president Vladimir Putin, state media KCNA reported this morning.

In a reply sent on Monday to Putin's congratulations for North Korea's 78th founding anniversary, Kim said Pyongyang's government had a firm will ⁠to broaden cooperation with ​Russia "in ⁠a comprehensive way" based on friendship, mutual assistance, and what he described as ⁠the countries' alliance relations.

Kim also said he was convinced of Russia's victory in the current "sacred war for defending the security interests of the country and international justice", language that appeared to refer to Russia's war in Ukraine.

The remarks come as Moscow and Pyongyang have drawn markedly closer, with North Korea sending troops to fight alongside Russian forces in Ukraine in 2024 and deepening military cooperation under a mutual defence pact.

A Ukrainian animal rescuer has said he is “grateful to be alive” after his car was struck by a Russian drone while rescuing a group of stranded dogs from near the frontline.

Ruslan Horbal, a volunteer for Animal Rescue Kharkiv (ARK) , was on a rescue mission in Ukraine’s war-torn eastern city of Kramatorsk, when a Russian drone hit the vehicle, killing one of the rescued dogs. He had only just gathered the animals into the back of the car when the attack took place.

“It happened very fast. There was an explosion, smoke and glass everywhere,” recalls Mr Horbal, who was hospitalised after the attack, in an interview with The Independent. “At first, I was confused. It took me a moment to understand what had happened. Then I started checking if everyone was alive and if the animals were OK. That’s when I realised I was badly injured too. There was a lot of blood.”