Russia strikes Kyiv with ballistic missiles after European allies announce new defense coalition

Russia launched a ballistic missile attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Tuesday, hours after nine European countries announced a coalition to develop anti-missile capabilities.

• Ukrainian authorities reported explosions across Kyiv and said air defense systems were activated.
• The attack followed a Monday summit in Paris where nine European states and Ukraine pledged to boost Ukraine's air defense and authorized local production of French missiles.
• The Russian Defense Ministry stated its forces struck military industrial sites in Kyiv and infrastructure at Yuzhny port, and claimed to have intercepted 146 Ukrainian drones.
• Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described the new European coalition as a "coalition of war-mongers" and said President Putin refuses to negotiate a ceasefire.

Latest developments

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that the attack was the fifth major assault on Kyiv since July, with 135 drones and 10 missiles launched, damaging 16 sites including a school and a commercial facility.