International NATO countries support Ukrainian arms industry

Following new escalation steps by Russia in the Ukraine war, Germany and other NATO states want to further strengthen arms production in Ukraine.

As a first step, this will be financed with the interest income from frozen Russian assets, said German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius after a meeting with his colleagues from France, Great Britain, Poland and Italy. Ukraine is also the focus of discussions today at an unscheduled meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council in Brussels and at a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations in Italy.

Meanwhile, the mutual shelling continued. The mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, wrote on Telegram during the night that the drone attacks on the capital were continuing. "The air defense forces are operating in different parts of the city." The drones were entering the capital from different directions. According to unconfirmed media reports, the Ukrainian armed forces had previously attacked a Russian military airport near Kursk with artillery missiles from the US ATACMS system.

Pistorius: Promote the development and procurement of AI drones

Pistorius said that Germany and other NATO states had planned, among other things, to promote the development and procurement of drones controlled by artificial intelligence. Cooperation is also to be expanded in the production of ammunition. Pistorius continued after the meeting: "Our goal: Ukraine must be able to act from a position of strength." He emphasized that the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine was no longer a regional conflict. "It has taken on an international dimension." He referred to the 10,000 soldiers from North Korea that Russian President Vladimir Putin had brought into the country and to whom he was paying a one-off payment of 2,000 euros per head. "That can hardly be surpassed in terms of cynicism."

Pistorius mentioned the deployment of Russian medium-range missiles as a further escalation step. He reiterated that Russia's actions also affect people in Germany and other NATO countries. "Russia's threatening gestures are always directed at us at the same time."

Nato-Ukraine Council discusses Russia's missile attack

Representatives of the 32 NATO states and Ukraine are meeting today in Brussels for an unscheduled meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council. According to an alliance spokesperson, the meeting at ambassador level will also discuss the latest Russian attack on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. On Thursday, Russia fired a new medium-range missile called Oreshnik. According to Russian information, it can fly at hypersonic speed and cannot be intercepted. Experts assume that it could theoretically also be equipped with nuclear warheads.

The war also takes center stage at the meeting of the G7 foreign ministers in Italy. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrij Sybiha is also attending the meeting in the small town of Fiuggi, around 80 kilometers outside of Rome.

Report: Ukraine attacks Russian military airfield with ATACMS missiles

According to unconfirmed media reports, the Ukrainian armed forces attacked a Russian military airport near Kursk with artillery missiles from the US ATACMS system on Monday night. The Kursk-Vostochny airport was hit by at least two missiles with multiple warheads, Ukrainian media reported. No information was available on the extent of the damage. The reports could not be independently verified.

This would be the second use of ATACMS missiles against targets on Russian territory since Washington allowed Ukraine to launch long-range attacks against military objects in Russia. The first attack the previous week targeted a Russian ammunition depot in the Bryansk region. This was followed by another attack, presumably with British Storm Shadow cruise missiles, against the headquarters of the Russian forces deployed near Kursk. With around 50,000 soldiers, including 10,000 fighters from North Korea, these forces want to recapture the area near Kursk that has been occupied by Ukraine since the summer.

Meanwhile, the White House confirmed - according to Ukrainian reports for the first time officially - that it had given Ukraine permission to fire ATACMS missiles at certain targets in Russia. US National Security Council communications director John Kirby said the US had changed the guidelines for the use of these missiles so that the Ukrainians could use them "to attack these specific targets". "Right now they are able to use ATACMS to defend themselves if they need to. And at the moment, understandably, this is taking place in the area around Kursk, in the Kursk region."

Zelensky announces response to Russian attacks

Following the latest Russian missile attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a tough response. "We will definitely respond to everything Russia does," he said in his evening video message. "There must not even be a hint of normalization of Russian terror - of getting used to it."

Russia recently attacked the major cities of Kharkiv and Odessa with different types of missiles. According to Selenskyj, 25 people were injured in Kharkiv. The Russian side had used a repurposed missile from the S-400 air defense system. Eleven people were injured in the port city of Odessa. An Iskander cruise missile exploded there.

Fierce fighting in eastern Ukraine

The east of Ukraine was rocked by further heavy fighting. The fighting once again centered on areas around the towns of Pokrovsk and Kurakhove on the edge of the Donbass. An independent assessment of the events was not possible.

In the evening, the Russian military launched new groups of combat drones at targets in Ukraine. Several drones struck in the Sumy region in the east of the country in the evening, as reported by the Ukrinform agency. No information was initially available about any possible effects. An air alert was issued in the neighboring regions.

SDA