Downed 3 drones outside Moscow, claims Kremlin

Kyiv, June 21

Two drones were brought down outside Moscow as they approached the warehouses of a local military unit, Russian authorities said on Wednesday, in what could be the latest attempt by Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia. The third drone’s wreckage was found 20 km away.

At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that the Ukrainian forces were regrouping after what he described as a failed counteroffensive.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was quoted as saying that progress in Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian forces was “slower than desired”, but that Kyiv would not be pressured into speeding it up. “It is not a Hollywood movie,” BBC quoted him as saying. Putin said Moscow had observed a “lull” in Ukraine’s counteroffensive, which began early this month. — Agencies

Russia must pay: UK

• British PM Rishi Sunak on Wednesday opened the Ukraine Recovery Summit in London to say that “Russia must pay” for the destruction in its European neighbour.