The Ukrainian authorities announced that Russia launched a new missile attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and other cities on Thursday. The Ukrainian air defenses intercepted the attack and were placed on high alert. Russia also reported an attack on an oil storage depot in the Kursk region by a Ukrainian drone.
Local Ukrainian authorities reported explosions in Kyiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, and Lviv near the Polish border. Witnesses confirmed multiple explosions in different areas of Kyiv, prompting the mayor, Vitali Klitschko, to advise residents to seek shelter in bunkers. Ukrainian air defenses successfully repelled a missile attack by Russia on the capital earlier today.
Meanwhile, the mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovyi, mentioned hearing explosions in the city located west of the country near the Polish border. The regional governor, Ivan Fedorov, reported a person injured in an attack on an infrastructure facility in Zaporizhzhia, marking the ninth missile attack conducted by Moscow in February.
On the Russian side, the governor of the Kursk region, Roman Starovoit, stated that a Ukrainian drone targeted an oil storage depot in the area today, causing a fire in the facility without any reported injuries. The energy infrastructure in Russia has faced drone attacks and fires since January, adding to the global oil and gas markets’ existing turmoil due to conflicts in the Middle East.
Russia and Ukraine continue to target energy infrastructure in efforts to disrupt supply lines and logistics services as part of their ongoing war for nearly two years, with no signs of nearing an end.
Ministers of Defense from NATO member countries gathered in Brussels today to discuss long-term support for Ukraine and progress on meeting the 2% of GDP expenditure on defense. The discussions were overshadowed by former US President Donald Trump’s recent remarks encouraging Russia to act as it pleases with NATO countries not meeting defense spending requirements.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg praised the unprecedented 11% increase in defense spending by European allies and Canada, emphasizing the importance of meeting the 2% commitment. Despite skepticism from Trump regarding NATO’s fundamental principle, some politicians advocate for European countries to explore their nuclear deterrence options.
Stoltenberg cautioned against such a move, highlighting the current NATO nuclear deterrence framework based on agreed leadership actions involving US nuclear weapons and other NATO allies providing transportation and logistical services. Since 2006, NATO members agreed to spend 2% of their GDP on defense, yet only a few have reached this target, leading to US frustration.
Ukrainian army’s new commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, acknowledged the extremely complex battlefield situation during his first visit to the front line, stressing the need for Kyiv to receive more fighters and weapons to confront the Russian invasion.
Challenges for Ukraine in the war intensify due to a lack of crucial additional US military aid necessary for its arsenal renewal, amid months of disagreement between the Democratic administration and Republican Congress members on this matter.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned that the Ukrainian army’s ammunition is depleting due to Republican obstruction of a massive aid package requested by President Joe Biden’s administration.
