Russia Ukraine war live: Poland activates fighter jets as Zelensky predicts Putin’s next target

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has warned which countries he believes Vladimir Putin will target next if he is victorious in Ukraine.

Kazakhstan would be next, followed by the Baltic states, Poland and then Germany, Mr Zelensky claims.

“Even tomorrow, the missiles can fly to any state,” he told US broadcaster CBS. “For him, we are a satellite of the Russian Federation,.

“At the moment, it’s us, then Kazakhstan, then Baltic states, then Poland, then Germany. At least half of Germany.”

Russia fired drones and missiles overnight at southern and eastern regions of Ukraine, authorities said, injuring more than a dozen people as the Kremlin’s forces persevered with attritional attacks designed to wear down Ukrainian defenses.

Ukrainian MP Kira Rudik has asked her country’s allies to switch from “helping Ukraine fight, to letting us win the war.”

She said limitations on issues such as weapons delivery need to be lifted so Ukraine does not have to face Russia “empty-handed”.

The People’s Deputy of Ukraine also said she understands the strain many are facing under the cost of living crisis, and suggested donating around £50 billion of Russian money frozen in Britain to the Ukrainian war effort.

She said: “Let’s make Putin pay for what he broke.”

Ukrainians have expressed pride and gratitude toward their men’s national soccer team for qualifying for the European Championship, a rare bit of good news and a welcome distraction from the war with Russia.

Though celebrations after Ukraine’s 2-1 win over Iceland were muted as Russian missiles kept raining down on the country, the team’s success gives Ukrainians something to cheer for this summer when the tournament kicks off in Germany.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview published on Friday that if Ukraine does not get promised U.S. military aid blocked by disputes in Congress, its forces will have to retreat “in small steps”.

“If there is no US support, it means that we have no air defence, no Patriot missiles, no jammers for electronic warfare, no 155-milimetre artillery rounds,” he told the Washington Post.

“It means we will go back, retreat, step by step, in small steps,” he said. “We are trying to find some way not to retreat.”

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal was in Poland on Thursday for talks with his counterpart Donald Tusk to address Polish and western European farmers’ demands that regulations be applied to the cheap Ukrainian food imports that they say are undercutting their livelihoods.

Farmers in many countries have been staging vehement protests against the imports and tensions have grown between Kyiv and its staunch ally Warsaw over the tax-free inflow of Ukraine’s farm produce.

The Italian airforce said on Friday it intercepted unidentified aircraft flying over international waters in the Baltic Sea, and two defence sources in Rome identified them as Russian planes.

The two interceptions were carried out on Thursday and Friday morning by Italian Eurofighter jets based in the Polish base of Malbork as part of a NATO air policing mission, a statement said.

After completing their activity, the Italian jets returned to the Polish base, the airforce added, without giving further details.

The two defence sources said the Russian aircraft were spotted by radars but did not respond to radio signals and requests to communicate.

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Russia launched a huge attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Friday, with a barrage of 99 drones and missiles hitting regions across the country, Ukraine’s armed forces said.

Air raid warnings rang out across the nation, with 10 Ukrainian regions coming under fire, the country’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said.