Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky again called on allies to provide more air defense assets following a barrage of Russian airstrikes on Kyiv. Ukraine’s military shot down 18 missiles during the attacks on the capital, Zelensky said, but more support is needed to protect the entire country. “We need additional air defense systems and missiles,” he said. “We also need modern fighter jets.”
A Ukrainian-operated Patriot air defense system — the most advanced air defense system in the U.S. arsenal — was damaged in the latest attack, a U.S. official said Tuesday, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue. The extent of the damage is unclear, according to the official, but it is unlikely that Ukraine will need to ship it to another country for repair.
Russia agreed to a two-month extension of the Black sea grain deal on Wednesday, a day ahead of its expiration, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced. The initiative, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last summer, allows Ukraine to ship grain to countries around the world. Moscow had threatened to pull out unless measures to facilitate the export of Russian fertilizer were implemented. Erdogan did not specify what, if any, promises had been made to Russia to clinch the extension.
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
Ukraine intercepts missiles as Russia steps up strikes on Kyiv: Residents of the Ukrainian capital were jolted awake about 3 a.m. Tuesday by cascading booms that shook windows and set off car alarms, Adam Taylor and David L. Stern report. Ukraine shot down 18 missiles — including six hypersonic projectiles — and at least three people were injured, while some facilities were damaged.
The assault “was exceptional in its density — the maximum number of missile attacks in the shortest period of time,” Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s city military administration, wrote on Telegram.
