Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky fears ‘massive’ new attack while Putin reacts to Romania drone strike

Russia expects to run at least $28bn over budget on its Ukraine war spending this year as advances slow and Kyiv gathers momentum with strikes across the border.

A letter from finance minister Anton Siluanov in February urged the cabinet to freeze around ₽2.9 trillion Russian roubles ($40.8bn) in planned non-war-related spending this year, warning that the ₽2trn overspend could rise to as much as ₽4trn in a “negative scenario”, according to the Financial Times.

Mr Siluanov also anticipated that Russia would overspend on the war by a further ₽4trn in 2027 and 2028.

Russian officials said a Ukrainian drone strike killed two people travelling in a car in the Belgorod border region early on Saturday.

Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said the drone hit a vehicle in the village of Nikolskoye, south of the regional capital, killing two passengers instantly and injuring two others. Emergency services were dispatched to the scene.

The region, which borders northeastern Ukraine, has faced repeated shelling and drone strikes since the start of the war because of its proximity to the frontline.

Kyiv has not publicly commented on the reported attack.

Russia has repeatedly accused Ukraine of targeting civilian areas in the region, while Kyiv says strikes inside Russian territory are aimed at military and logistics infrastructure supporting Moscow’s invasion.

Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Friday that Russia was preparing a “massive” new strike against Ukraine as Kyiv renewed calls for western allies to accelerate deliveries of Patriot air defence systems.

In a Telegram post and later video address, the Ukrainian president said intelligence assessments indicated Moscow was preparing intensified attacks in the coming days. “We understand what Russia is preparing for and what it is counting on,” Zelensky said, urging Ukrainians not to ignore air raid alerts.

Zelensky also defended Ukraine’s long-range strikes on Russian infrastructure, saying Kyiv would continue targeting Russia’s logistics networks and oil industry to weaken its war effort. “We are defending ourselves actively,” he said. “Everything that makes it harder for Russia to wage war helps bring peace closer.”

He added that Ukraine was working “with all partners” to strengthen air defences amid escalating Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities.

Vladimir Putin has questioned whether a drone that struck an apartment building in Romania was Russian, despite Romanian authorities and Nato attributing the incident to Moscow.

The strike hit a residential building in the border city of Galați on Thursday during a wider Russian attack near the Danube, injuring two people and prompting Bucharest to summon Russia’s ambassador.

Speaking on Friday, Putin said it was “too early” to determine the drone’s origin and suggested it could have been Ukrainian instead. “Who said this was a Russian drone? Has anyone conducted an examination?” he said, adding that Russia was willing to jointly analyse the debris with Romania.

Putin compared the incident to previous cases in Poland and the Baltic states where, he claimed: “The first reaction is always the same: ‘The Russians are coming.’”

Putin also criticised European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen for accusing Russia of crossing “another line” with the strike, while Nato chief Mark Rutte said the alliance would defend “every inch” of its territory.

That a Russian drone, probably fired from Crimea, crashed into a Romanian residential block and injured two people, is a gratuitous, unprovoked and serious act of aggression against an independent Nato state.

It demands a suitable response. That the incident is hardly a surprise is no reason for complacency.

It is true that in Romania, Poland and other states neighbouring Ukraine, Russian munitions and aircraft have been venturing into Nato airspace since before the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022. The danger was always that they’d stop landing harmlessly in a field. Not all were “accidents” – and there’s been too much activity more openly on the offensive.

Romania summoned Russia’s ambassador after a drone identified by Nato as Russian struck an apartment building in the border city of Galați on Thursday night, injuring two people and starting a fire.

Nato secretary general Mark Rutte said the alliance was ready to defend “every inch” of its territory following the incident. “Russia’s reckless behaviour is a danger to us all,” Rutte said after speaking with Romanian president Nicușor Dan. “Nato stands ready to defend every inch of allied territory.”

Dan described the strike as the most serious security incident on Romanian territory since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and said Bucharest would strengthen air defence measures along its eastern border.

Russian president Vladimir Putin disputed the attribution on Friday, saying it was “too early” to conclude the drone was Russian. “Who said this was a Russian drone? Has anyone conducted an examination?” Putin said, suggesting the drone could have been Ukrainian instead and calling for the wreckage to be handed over to Moscow for an independent investigation.

Russia has lost 500,000 soldiers since it began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the UK’s intelligence chief said in London.

GCHQ director Anne Keast-Butler gave the latest figure for Russian casualties in Ukraine during her first public speech at Bletchley Park, saying it proved Vladimir Putin was “going backwards in the battlefield”.

Ms Keast-Butler warned Russia was risking a wider conflict in Europe by targeting critical infrastructure and supply chains across the continent.

Japan has committed around $14.7m (£10.8m) to a Nato-backed programme that helps purchase US-made military equipment for Ukraine, according to Japan’s foreign ministry.

The funding will go towards the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), a Nato-US initiative launched last year to speed up deliveries of equipment requested by Kyiv.

Japan said its contribution would be restricted to non-lethal items, in line with the country’s post-war constitutional limits on exporting lethal military aid.

Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha welcomed the move, calling Japan’s support a “powerful message of solidarity”.

Russian officials said Ukrainian drones struck oil-related infrastructure in the southern port city of Taganrog overnight, triggering fires at a fuel tank and an oil tanker.

Rostov Oblast governor Yuri Slusar said on Telegram that an administrative building was also damaged and two people were injured in the attack, according to the Kyiv Independent.

According to local officials, the strike hit loading infrastructure at the city’s port on the Sea of Azov. Separately, residents in occupied Crimea reported explosions in Feodosia and a fire at an oil depot, according to the Crimean Wind Telegram channel.

Ukraine’s military has not publicly commented on the strikes.