NATO chief urges members to keep focus on Ukraine

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte opened a meeting of Ukraine’s main backers in Berlin with a stark warning: allies must not let attention drift from the war and should raise their support for Kyiv to $60 billion in 2026.

The appeal came as defence ministers from countries including Germany and Britain gathered with the conflict against Russia now entering its fifth year.

“We have to ensure that we are capable of delivering uninterrupted support for Ukraine,” Mr Rutte said. “We cannot lose sight of Ukraine.”

In recent weeks, the US-Israeli war against Iran has dominated global headlines, fuelling concern that Ukraine is slipping down the list of international priorities.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday that US peace negotiators “have no time for Ukraine” because of the crisis in the Middle East.

Mr Rutte said today that “supporting Ukraine’s fight is as important as ever,” while arguing that “too few countries share too much of the burden”.

“All allies must invest more to achieve the target of $60 billion of security and defence support to Ukraine this year,” he said.

He identified air defence systems, along with drones, missiles and long-range artillery ammunition, as urgent needs for Kyiv.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Ukraine had just come through “one of the most difficult” winters in the country’s history.

He said Russia had fired hundreds of ballistic and cruise missiles and thousands of drones in an effort to “break our energy system and leave our people in darkness”.

“But Ukraine endured,” he said, crediting significantly reinforced air defences with helping blunt the attacks.

Zelensky presses allies on air defence in Rome

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Rome today for talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, stepping up his push for European allies to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences against continued Russian strikes.

Mr Zelensky’s meeting with the far-right Italian leader, one of Kyiv’s firm supporters, came a day after his visit to Germany, where he and Chancellor Friedrich Merz agreed to deepen defence cooperation, particularly in drone warfare.

“The top diplomatic priority for Ukraine right now is cooperation for the sake of air defence,” Mr Zelensky wrote on X earlier.

“We need air defence missiles every single day – every day the Russians continue their strikes on our cities,” he said, after regional authorities reported that Russian attacks across Ukraine killed seven people, including a child, the previous day.

Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Rome for talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni today

Mr Zelensky was also in Norway yesterday, where he and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store agreed to expand defence and security cooperation.

The Ukrainian leader told German television that arms deliveries from the United States – which has reduced support under Mr Trump – had become “a big problem”.

He is also urging European governments to join the PURL programme, launched last year, under which Ukraine can obtain US equipment paid for by European countries.

Italy has supplied weapons, including the French-Italian SAMP/T air defence system, but has yet to sign up to PURL.

Russian attacks on Ukraine kill one, injure seven overnight

Russia launched more than 300 ⁠drones and three ballistic missiles at Ukraine overnight, aiming at port infrastructure in the south in attacks that killed one person and wounded at least seven others, Ukrainian officials said.

Ukraine’s air defence units said they shot down or neutralised 309 drones, but the missiles and 13 drones still struck nine locations.

“Just over the past 24 hours there were brutal attacks on Dnipro, Cherkasy, Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih, Chernihiv, the Donetsk region, and Zaporizhzhia,” Mr Zelensky said in a post on X, again stressing that stronger air defences remain a central priority.

“We need air defence ‌missiles every single day – every day the ⁠Russians continue their strikes on our cities.”

A man walks past a building damaged in a Russian drone attack in Kramatorsk, Ukraine

Yesterday, Ukraine and Germany agreed plans for defence cooperation, while Kyiv also reached an agreement on drone production in Norway.

In Zaporizhzhia, a 74-year-old woman was killed inside a kiosk during a combined strike on the southeastern city early this morning, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said on the Telegram messaging app.

He said the attack damaged a ‌car park, business premises and nearby residential buildings, as well as an education facility. He also posted photographs showing a mangled metal structure, shattered windows and damaged cars.

Regional ⁠prosecutors said both drones and missiles were used in the strike.

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