Ukraine updates: Russia fires missiles at several regions

Russian missile attacks have killed at least three people in western Ukraine, far from the front line and close to the border with NATO-member Poland. DW has the latest.

Russia fires missiles at several regions

Russia reacts to falling ruble with interest rate hike

The Russian central bank increased its key interest rate to 12% on Tuesday as it battles with a sharp depreciation of the ruble against the US dollar and euro in recent weeks.

The Russian currency has lost almost a third of its value since the beginning of the year as its export revenues tumble while imports remain high, and while government spending is diverted to funding the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Poland to hold biggest military parade since Cold War

Poland is sets to see its biggest military parade since the Cold war, on Tuesday, in a perceived message to both Russia and general voters ahead of the elections in October.

The Armed Forces Day parade is taking place on the 103rd anniversary of the country's victory over the Soviet Union in the historic battle of Warsaw. It will include 2,000 soldiers from Poland and other NATO countries march through Warsaw with 200 items of military equipment and 92 aircrafts.

The NATO-member's military flex comes after Russia's war in Ukraine forced Poland's ruling party to boost its armed forces.

"This parade will be different from the previous ones; we will be able to see how the process of modernizing the equipment of the Polish Army is progressing," Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak had said on Sunday.

The opposition, however, has criticized using the military for its own personal gain. "Using the Polish Army for electoral agitation is a disgrace to PiS... No to the politicisation of the army!," Michal Szczerba, a lawmaker from the largest opposition party, the liberal Civic Platform (PO), wrote on social media.

source: Deutsche Welle