It is day 552 of the war in Ukraine.

Russian air defence shot down two drones over the Tula region.

The investigation into the murder of Alexander Zakharchenko, former head of the self-proclaimed DPR, has been completed, TASS reports. Four people are listed as defendants in the case.

A Russian SJ-100 jet equipped with import-substituted systems performs its first flight in the Far East.

Novaya-Europe’s news round-up will brief you on the main developments overnight.

Drones attack Russia’s Tula region

Air defence shot down two drones over the Tula region overnight, the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement. Another drone was downed in the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine.

Earlier, Zelensky’s adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said that Kyiv’s allies have greenlighted Ukrainian strikes against annexed Crimea. As for the regular appearance of drones over Russian soil, Podolyak said:

“Let’s make clear the official position — [the drones are] of unknown origin. And, naturally, the number of these drones will increase.”

Investigation into murder of former “DPR” chief complete

The investigation into the murder of Alexander Zakharchenko, former head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, has been completed, Russian news agency TASS reports citing sources in law enforcement.

Zakharchenko was killed in 2018 in an explosion that ripped through a cafe in central Donetsk.

Four people have been accused of involvement in the case — Alexander Pogorelov, Artyom Yena, Vasily Churilov, and Alexander Timoshenko. They have been charged with several terrorism-related offences, the possession of explosives, and espionage, among other things.

A military court in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don will hear the case on 30 August.

Re-equipped Russian SJ-100 jet makes first flight

A Russian SJ-100 aircraft with import-substituted systems has made its maiden flight in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade reported Tuesday morning.

The flight lasted 54 minutes, reaching altitudes of up to 3,000 metres.

“Tests confirmed the stable operation of all domestically produced systems, as well as the aircraft’s controllability and stability,” the ministry said.

According to the ministry, about 40 systems and units were re-equipped. The jet itself was manufactured by the Yakovlev aircraft maker, which belongs to Russia’s Rostec state corporation.