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Russia-Ukraine latest: Poland scrambles fighter jets; explosions reported near Ukraine's border with Moldova

Polish and allied aircraft were activated early this morning after Russia launched missile strikes on Ukraine, the Operational Command of the Polish armed forces said. Listen to a Daily podcast on how UK-made cars are getting into Russia as you scroll.

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Romanian authorities say drone fragments found on farm near border with Ukraine

The Romanian defence ministry says drone fragments have been found on a farm near the border with Ukraine.

They say the farm is located near the Danube river, which separates Ukraine and Romania at Ukraine's southwestern edge.

Several army search teams were sent to the Great Braila Island to investigate, local media said. 

Locals had reportedly heard "strange noises" and shared footage appearing to show the drone falling from the sky. 

"On the evening of 28 March, fragments that appear to have come from an aerial device [drone] on a farmland in the Great Braila Island were identified," the defence ministry said.

"The Ministry of National Defence, together with specialised structures within the national defence system, public order and national security, is conducting an investigation of the incident on Friday 29 March according to specific operational procedures."

Romania is a NATO member, having joined the alliance in 2004.

It comes after authorities in Moldova said three explosions were heard near its border with Ukraine overnight, according to reports in local media.

The explosions appear to have happened in Ukraine's Novodnestrovsk region, just to the north of the Moldovan border, but could be heard from Moldova (see post below).

Ukrainian officials said their forces destroyed 58 Russia-launched attack drones overnight, as well as 26 cruise missiles.

Three explosions reported near Ukrainian border with Moldova

Authorities in Moldova say three explosions were heard near its border with Ukraine overnight, according to reports in local media.

The explosions appear to have happened in Ukraine's Novodnestrovsk region, just to the north of the Moldovan border, but could be heard from Moldova.

Local media, quoting the Moldovan border force, said officials heard the explosions from Ocnita, Otaci, and Soroca.

However, they said Russian missiles did not enter Moldovan airspace. 

"Regarding the information that Russian missiles flew over the airspace of the Republic of Moldova last night, we would like to mention that all airspace surveillance and monitoring systems did not detect any unauthorised entry," the Moldovan border force said in a statement, reported by two local news websites.

They added this had also been confirmed by the Ukrainian authorities.

Context: Moldova, a landlocked former Soviet republic situated between Ukraine and Romania, is not a member of NATO.

It has a constitutional commitment to neutrality.

However, since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, its government has suggested shifting position towards closer ties with NATO. It also began ascension talks with the EU in December last year.

Ukraine's foreign minister says India's ties to Russia 'based on fading Soviet legacy'

Yesterday, we brought you news that Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba was on a diplomatic visit to New Delhi.

India, which has a long-standing trading relationship with Moscow, has remained neutral in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged the need for peace talks, India has refused to condemn Russia's February 2022 invasion, and has significantly increased its purchases of Russian oil since.

Mr Kuleba arrived in New Delhi yesterday to advance Kyiv's vision of the path to peace - which for Ukraine starts with the return of its territory - as well as to strengthen ties with India.

According to the Financial Times, Mr Kuleba urged India to stand by Kyiv, saying the nation's close ties with Russia were based on an evaporating Soviet legacy.

He also reportedly suggested that New Delhi had much to gain from expanding trade and technology ties with Ukraine and offered Indian companies a role in postwar reconstruction.

"We are interested in importing some of the heavy machinery items that India is producing," he said, according to the FT.

Ukraine hopes to hold a summit of world leaders without Russian participation in the coming months to advance its blueprint for peace, which calls among other things for the withdrawal of Russian troops from its territory.

Russia has dismissed the Ukrainian diplomatic initiative as a non-starter. 

Ukraine's air force chief says Russia launched 'powerful' air attack on 'energy sector'

More now coming through on the overnight drone and missile attack on Ukraine.

Ukraine's air force says it destroyed 58 Russia-launched attack drones overnight as well as 26 cruise missiles.

The air force chief described the attack as a "powerful missile and air strike" and said Russia had targeted the country's "fuel and energy sector".

Russia attacks three thermal power plants in Ukraine

Three thermal power plants of Ukraine's largest private power firm DTEK were attacked by Russia overnight, according to the company.

DTEK said some of their equipment was "severely damaged" in the attack.

"After the attack ended, the power engineers promptly started to repair the damage," the company said on the Telegram messaging app. 

Ukrainian power grid operator Ukrenergo also said that both thermal and hydropower plants had been damaged in missile and drone attacks.

"During the night, the Russians struck again at energy facilities in a massive and combined attack," Ukrenergo said on the Telegram messaging app. 

"Thermal and hydroelectric power plants in the central and western regions were damaged," it said.

Ukrenergo noted that emergency shutdowns were applied in the country's southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region. 

Poland scrambles fighter jets after Russia launches missile strikes on western Ukraine

Early this morning, Polish and allied aircraft were scrambled after Russia launched missile strikes on Ukraine, the Operational Command of the Polish armed forces said. 

"Polish and allied aircraft are operating in Polish airspace, which may result in increased noise levels, especially in the southeastern part of the country," it said on social media platform X.

The southeastern part of Poland borders Ukraine. 

Poland also scrambled jets on 24 March during a missile and drone attack on western Ukraine to "ensure the safety of Polish airspace".

Good morning

Welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. 

Before we resume our live coverage, here is a quick recap of some of the key developments over the last 24 hours.

  • Russia claimed it had evidence that the gunmen who killed more than 140 people in an attack on a Moscow concert hall last week were linked to "Ukrainian nationalists" - without presenting the evidence;
  • The White House dismissed Russia's allegation as "nonsense";
  • Actor Steven Seagal - who once hailed Vladimir Putin as "one of the great living world leaders" - was pictured in Russia, visiting the victims of the Moscow terror attack;
  • A Russian military aircraft crashed into the sea off the Crimean port of Sevastopol;
  • Discussions about a possible prisoner exchange involving the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich should be completed "in silence", the Kremlin said. 
We're pausing our coverage

That's the end of our live updates and analysis for this evening, but we'll be back with more tomorrow.

Ukraine 'resists' bad news being published from the frontline, says top US official

A senior US diplomat has said Ukraine needs to be more open about sharing hard truths from the battlefield, according to a report.

The state department's counter-disinformation chief, James Rubin, told Politico that giving reporters greater access to sensitive conflict zones would strengthen Ukraine's campaign for aid from allies.

But Ukraine can sometimes "resist the kind of freedom of information that’s normal for us", he said.

"Some days, war reporters report things that aren't necessarily in the interest of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but in a democracy that we hope and increasingly see Ukraine becoming… they can understand that having war reporters cover the war, even if occasionally there's bad news, is a far better life than the controlled environment that Russia has placed on all of its people."

France shuts down fake website recruiting 200,000 to fight in Ukraine

French authorities have shut down a website falsely claiming to be recruiting French volunteers to fight in Ukraine.

The website purported to be organising a recruitment drive to enlist 200,000 French citizens, AFP reported

"The site is a fake government site and has been reposted by malicious accounts as part of a disinformation campaign," the French defence ministry said.