![A residential building is damaged after a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday. (AFP-Yonhap)]](https://contents-cdn.viewus.co.kr/image/2025/07/CP-2023-0309/30873068.jpg)
Russia launched one of its largest aerial assaults on Ukraine in recent months, just hours before Britain and Germany chaired a meeting on Monday to discuss US President Donald Trump’s plan for NATO allies to supply Ukraine with weapons.
A drone struck the entrance of a subway station in Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district, where civilians had taken shelter. Social media videos showed the station platform shrouded in smoke, with dozens of people inside. The heaviest strikes hit the Darnytskyi district, igniting fires in a kindergarten, a supermarket, and warehouse facilities.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, who arrived in Kyiv on Monday for discussions with Zelenskyy, visited some of the affected areas.
Zelenskyy and Barrot discussed expanding defense cooperation, including plans for French companies to manufacture drones in Ukraine, as well as advancing Ukraine’s path toward European Union membership, the Ukrainian leader reported on social media.
British Defense Secretary John Healey and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius led a virtual meeting of high-level military officials, which was also attended by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, as part of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting.
Moscow has intensified its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities, and analysts expect these barrages to escalate as Russian drone production increases.
Ukraine’s new Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal urged allies to accelerate the delivery of American air defense systems under Trump’s proposed plan.
“I call on the US to make these weapons available for purchase, and our European partners to provide all the necessary financing for their procurement,” Shmyhal, who recently served as prime minister, told the meeting.
Trump’s arms plan, announced last week, involves European nations sending American weapons — including Patriot air defense missile systems — to Ukraine through NATO, either from existing stockpiles or by purchasing and donating new ones.
In a shift in tone toward Russia, Trump last week issued Moscow a 50-day ultimatum to agree to a ceasefire or face tougher sanctions.
At Monday’s meeting, Healey was expected to urge Ukraine’s Western partners to launch a “50-day drive” to provide Kyiv with the weapons needed to counter Russia’s larger army and force Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to the negotiating table, according to a UK government statement.
NATO’s Grynkewich told The Associated Press on Thursday that “preparations are underway” for weapons transfers to Ukraine, while US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said he could not provide a specific timeline.
European Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius visited Washington on Monday for talks with US officials regarding European defense and support for Ukraine.
Kubilius welcomed Trump’s tougher stance on Putin, calling it “a new opening in how we can support Ukraine.” He added, “When you combine American and European economic power, we are about 20 times stronger than Russia. We simply need the political will.” Germany has offered to finance two new Patriot systems for Ukraine and proposed supplying systems it already owns, which would then be replaced by the US.
However, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz cautioned that delivery might take time, stating, “They need to be transported and set up; this isn’t a matter of hours, but rather days, perhaps weeks.” Additional Patriot systems may come from Switzerland, whose defense ministry announced on Thursday that the US Defense Department would “reprioritize the delivery” of five previously ordered systems to support Ukraine.
While Ukraine awaits the Patriots, a senior NATO official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the alliance is still coordinating the delivery of other military aid — including ammunition and artillery rounds — which incorporates US assistance that had been briefly paused.
In a video address, Zelenskyy announced another round of talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations scheduled for Wednesday. He mentioned that preparations would be discussed with Rustem Umerov, who led the Ukrainian team in the previous two rounds, but provided no further details.
The previous negotiations were held in Istanbul, and Russian media reports indicated that it would likely remain the host city. The talks in May and June resulted in prisoner exchanges but achieved no other agreements.
The overnight Russian barrage on Kyiv began shortly after midnight and continued until around 6 a.m. Residents endured machine-gun fire, the buzzing of drone engines, and multiple loud explosions throughout the night.
This marked the first major attack on Kyiv since Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, arrived in the city last Monday. Russia had halted its strikes during his visit.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed that its attack employed drones and Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, targeting airfield infrastructure and Ukraine’s military-industrial complex.
Ukraine’s Air Force reported that Russia launched 426 Shahed and decoy drones overnight and on Monday, along with 24 missiles of various types. They stated that 200 drones were intercepted, while another 203 were jammed or lost from radar detection.
Meanwhile, Ukraine continued to deploy its domestically produced long-range drones. Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed that its forces shot down 74 Ukrainian drones overnight, with nearly one-third destroyed near the Russian capital. The ministry reported that 23 drones were shot down in the Moscow region, 15 of which were intercepted over the city itself. (AP)
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