Ukraine targets drone facility in Russia’s Tatarstan
A Ukrainian emergency responder works to extinguish a fire at the site of a missile attack in Sumy on April 13, 2025. PHOTO: Ukrainian Emergency Service via AFP
Ukraine’s SBU intelligence agency said on Tuesday its drones struck a building in Russia’s Tatarstan region containing long-range Shahed attack drones, located about 1,300 km (800 miles) from Ukraine. The SBU noted this was the second such strike in four days, adding that videos filmed by local residents confirmed the facility had been hit.
Earlier, Ukraine’s military said on Tuesday it was engaged in “difficult” combat near the cities of Pokrovsk and Dobropillia and had deployed reserves to block advances by small groups of Russian troops. The General Staff stated that some groups attempting to bypass Ukraine’s defensive lines in the area had already been destroyed, while others were being engaged by Ukrainian forces.
Read More: Kallas warns against US-Russia deal on Ukraine without Kyiv and EU involvement
EU on Ukraine future
Ukrainians must have the freedom to decide their own future, European Union member states said on Tuesday, weighing in ahead of talks between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy plan to speak with Trump on Wednesday, before the summit in Alaska, amid fears that Washington, hitherto Ukraine's leading arms supplier, might dictate unfavourable peace terms to Kyiv.