Nato official warns there could be further Russian strikes on Ukraine this week to try to draw attention away from event
World leaders flew into Washington DC on Tuesday for a two-day Nato summit where they are expected to agree enhanced military support for Ukraine against a backdrop of questions about Joe Biden’s mental sharpness.
Britain’s new prime minister, Keir Starmer, and Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, were among those arriving at the US capital amid a warning that Russia could step up missile strikes on Ukraine this week, repeating a barrage that killed at least 38 on Monday.
The summit is expected to agree a fresh package of military aid for Ukraine, including at least four additional Patriot air defence systems and progress on supplying F-16 fighters, to help Kyiv better fend off devastating Russian attacks.
On his arrival in Washington, Zelenskiy said he was “fighting for additional security guarantees for Ukraine” and described these as “weapons and finances, political support”, in a video on his Telegram channel.
A senior Nato official warned on Tuesday that there could be further Russian missile barrages on Ukraine this week to coincide with and draw headlines away from the summit. Moscow could seek to create “a split screen” of events to try to detract from decisions being made at the summit, the official said.
A children’s hospital in Kyiv was among the sites bombed on Monday. Ukraine said it was hit by a Kh-101 cruise missile. Two people were reported killed at the site and rescuers were still searching the rubble.
