Moldova summons Russian ambassador over missiles crossing its airspace

Moldova’s foreign minister Nicu Popescu has written on Twitter that he has summoned Russia’s ambassador to explain why missiles launched from the Black Sea into Ukraine crossed Moldova’s airspace.

A wave of missile strikes blasted Ukraine on Monday, with Volodymyr Zelenskyy claiming Russia had “two targets” – people and infrastructure. Missiles have also struck Kharkiv, Lviv and Ternopil – with further attacks reported in Kirovohrad, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi and Sumy;

Ukraine’s military has claimed that it shot down 41 of 75 missiles fired by Russia on Monday morning. The claim has not been independently verified.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said a wave of missile attacks on Ukrainian cities by Russian forces had targeted energy supplies and people, and were chosen to cause as much damage to civilians as possible.

There were some unconfirmed reports earlier of explosions being heard in Belgorod, which is a Russian city over the border from Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. The RIA Novosti news agency is now reporting that authorities in Belgorod have said the witness account reported by Reuters was the result of “Explosive experts of the Moscow region carrying out the destruction of ammunition at the training ground.”