Ukraine updates: Russia fires missiles at several regions

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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met with Ukraine's forces in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region.

He was shown in a video with senior Ukrainian soldiers examining a battlefield map.

"During a trip to the Zaporizhzhia region, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky visited the locations of the brigades that are conducting offensive operations in the Melitopol sector," Zelenskyy's office said.

The Ukrainian presidency said this was the frontline command point of the 46th separate airmobile brigade near the town of Orikhiv.

"The president listened to reports by the commanders on the course of combat actions in frontline areas ... and discussed the most problematic issues of their units together with the brigades and combatants," the office said in a statement.

Kyiv launched a counter-offensive against Moscow in southern and southeastern Ukraine in June. Ukrainian forces have retaken some villages but no larger settlements.

"Step by step, they are resolutely moving towards the necessary result," Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine's military reiterated demands for enhanced air defense systems and drones.

"The military emphasized the need for electronic warfare and frontline air defense systems to counter enemy aircraft and drones. There is also a need for drones, as they are quickly consumed in offensive operations," Zelenskyy's office said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin took aim at Western powers in his speech at the opening of the Moscow Conference on International Security on Tuesday.

Putin pinned the blame for unrest around the world on West, a tactic of Kremlin rhetoric that has become more common since Russia invaded Ukraine last year.

During his video address, Putin condemned the "geopolitical adventures and the selfish, neo-colonial behavior of the West" which he said was intended to "mercilessly exploit their resources within the framework of a neo-colonial system."

Russian state media said that over 800 representatives from 76 different countries were in attendance at the Moscow conference, including Li Shangfu, China's defense minister.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that its strikes across Ukraine overnight that killed at least three people were targeting Ukraine's military industrial facilities.

The ministry said it had used high-precision missiles and inflicted "significant damage" according to Russian media.

"Ukraine's military-industrial complex suffered significant damage," a ministry official said.

He added that Russia had hit all of its intended targets.

Police in the UK said on Tuesday that they had charged three Bulgarians with identity fraud back in February.  Public broadcaster BBC reported that the individuals were being held under suspicion of being Russian spies.

London's Metropolitan Police said that they arrested four people in February this year — two men aged 31 and 42 and two women aged 29 and 32. A fifth man, 45, was also later arrested.

Three of the individuals were later charged with identity fraud, but were not charged under the Official Secrets Act, which protects secret state information.

"All five individuals were later released on police bail and are due to return in September 2023," AFP news agency reported, citing the Metropolitan Police.

A Russian regional governor said on Tuesday that Russian forces had stopped a cross-border incursion by Ukrainian forces in the region of Bryansk.

Alexander Bogomaz, governor of Bryansk, made the announcement on Telegram, adding that there were no casualties from the operation.

There was no immediate response from Ukraine.

Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson announced a new military support package for Ukraine on Tuesday, pledging to send equipment worth 3.4 billion Swedish crowns ($314 million, €287 million).

The package will mostly include ammunition and spare parts for combat vehicles, tanks and artillery previously sent to Ukraine, public broadcaster SVT reported.

"We've reached a stage in the war where it is important to have good and safe solutions for platforms and systems that we will or have already sent so that the Ukrainians will achieve success," Jonson said.

The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Ukraine released a statement on Tuesday condemning today's wave of Russian strikes that hit civilian targets across the country.

"Today, a wave of attacks shook cities in the west, north and centre of Ukraine, causing damage to homes, a kindergarten and other civilian infrastructure that are hundreds of kilometres away from the front line," the statement said.

"These are the parts of the country where millions of people are seeking safety and refuge after fleeing the horrors of Russia’s invasion."

"Russia’s persistent attacks hitting essential infrastructure in populated areas cause immense human suffering," the statement added.

Finally, the office called for an end to "this brutal pattern of civilian harm."

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Ukraine's military resources were almost at an end, during a speech at the Moscow Conference on National Security.

"Preliminary results of the hostilities show that Ukraine's military resources are almost exhausted," he said.

Ukraine is being supported by a large number of western states including the US, Germany and the UK which have spent billions on providing Ukraine with modern weapons and ammunition.

Shoigu acknowledged this support, saying that Russia was not just facing Ukraine, but the "collective West," according to state-run news agency TASS, but went on to say that nothing was vulnerable to Russian weapons.

The Russian central bank increased its key interest rate to 12% on Tuesday as it battles with a sharp depreciation of the ruble against the US dollar and euro in recent weeks.

The Russian currency has lost almost a third of its value since the beginning of the year as its export revenues tumble while imports remain high, and while government spending is diverted to funding the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Russia's blockade in the Black Sea and consistent attacks on Ukrainian ports is disrupting the supply of food grains the global south, DW correspondent Amien Essif reports from Kyiv.

Agricultural trade accounted for 40% of Ukraine's exports in 2021, according to the US Food and Drug Administration, and is key to its economic health.

Moscow has stepped up attacks on Ukrainian ports since Russia pulled out of a deal that the UN and Turkey brokered to provide protection for ships carrying Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, Russia had further warned that it would blow up any ships in the region.

Despite a year of good agricultural output, farmers Essif spoke with said they have only been able to move a small fraction of their stores. The rest, remains in storage, waiting for a solution.

"This is the grain that feeds the whole world. Ukraine feeds perhaps 20% of the world, we have a lot of grain. All these countries around the world, especially in Africa are waiting for our grain but we can't export it," one farmer said.

Poland is set to see its biggest military parade since the Cold War, on Tuesday, in a perceived message to both Russia and general voters ahead of the elections in October. 

The Armed Forces Day parade is taking place on the 103rd anniversary of the country's victory over the Soviet Union in the historic battle of Warsaw. It will include 2,000 soldiers from Poland and other NATO countries march through Warsaw with 200 items of military equipment and 92 aircrafts.

The NATO-member's military flex comes after Russia's war in Ukraine forced Poland's ruling party to boost its armed forces. 

"This parade will be different from the previous ones; we will be able to see how the process of modernizing the equipment of the Polish Army is progressing," Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak had said on Sunday.

The opposition, however, has criticized using the military for its own personal gain. "Using the Polish Army for electoral agitation is a disgrace to PiS... No to the politicisation of the army!," Michal Szczerba, a lawmaker from the largest opposition party, the liberal Civic Platform (PO), wrote on social media.

During his first visit to the country since Russia's full-scale invasion started, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said on Monday that Berlin wants to continue to support Ukraine with further aid

"Ukraine must win this war. That's why it's also part of our responsibility that Ukraine's staying power is always greater than the viciousness emanating from Putin's war," he said. And he expressed sympathy for the transfer of Taurus cruise missiles to the country, a move that is currently under debate in Germany. 

DW explains why Ukraine wants Germany's Taurus cruise missiles.

Russian missile attacks hit several Ukrainian cities early Tuesday morning, including two in the west, far from the front line.

Blasts were heard in the western Ukrainian region of Lviv that borders with Poland, local officials said. 

"Explosions again in Lviv," the city's mayor Andriy Sadovyi said on the Telegram messaging app. Later he added that many missiles were shot down by air defenses, but some residential buildings were also hit. 

At least three people were killed in Volyn because of the air strikes. "As of now, three people have died. Several more wounded are in the hospital," said Yuriy Poguliaiko, governor of Volyn.

The regional governor, Maxim Kozitsky, wrote on Telegram that Russia-launched missiles struck some ground targets. Ukraine's air force posted that defense forces destroyed 16 out of at least 28 Russia-launched missiles overnight. 

The neighboring Lutsk region was also targeted. Lutsk Mayor Ihor Polishchuk reported that an industrial plant was hit and some people were injured.

An industrial facility was also hit in the east-central Ukrainian city of Dnipro. Local governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram that according to preliminary information, one person was injured.

Welcome to our ongoing coverage of Russia's war in Ukraine. You can catch up on Monday's events here and also on a selection of DW's extensive reporting.

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Yehor Oliynik is one of many Ukrainian soldiers defending Ukraine from Russian attacks. But his story is different – despite having lost a leg while fighting, he wants to go back to war using a prosthesis. Not everyone agrees. 

dh/rt (Reuters, AP, AFP)