Kiev: Russia carries out a new air attack before the NATO summit
Russia carried out another airstrike on Kiev on Monday night, hours before the start of the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, according to Ukraine. The summit is largely devoted to Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“The enemy attacked Kiev from the air for the second time this month,” Serhi Popko, head of the military administration in the Ukrainian capital, told Telegram. According to initial information from Ukraine, the attack was carried out with drones from Iran of the Shahed type. All Ukrainian air defense systems are said to have intercepted the drones. There is still no information on any damage or casualties.
The NATO summit kicks off at the gates of the reborn arch enemy Russia
The leaders of the NATO countries meet in Vilnius, the capital closest to Moscow. Again, with Russia’s war against Ukraine still ongoing, the summit is all about their resistance to the old enemy.
Outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his colleagues have much to discuss in the heavily guarded Vilnius Fortress, an hour’s drive from Russia. They are particularly appalled by Ukraine’s ardent desire to join. But some burning issues were resolved ahead of Tuesday’s two-day summit.
Turkey ended its opposition to Sweden joining the Western military alliance at the last minute of the summit. That “historic” moment, as NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg called it, spares NATO leaders a painful display of division.
CNN: Biden and Zelensky meet Wednesday in Vilnius
US President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodimir Zelensky will meet on Wednesday in Vilnius. CNN reports it based on a US official. A NATO summit will start in the Lithuanian capital on Tuesday.
For a long time it was unclear whether Zelensky would be present at the summit. The Ukrainian president previously said he did not intend to come “for fun”. Ukraine must receive clear security guarantees as long as it is not a member of NATO. Only under these circumstances would our meeting make sense, otherwise it’s just political again,” Zelensky told US news channel ABC.