Ukraine updates: Russia decries Belgorod attack

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv was doing "everything" possible after Russian forces breached a critical supply line in the embattled eastern city of Avdiivka

"We are doing everything we can to ensure that our warriors have enough managerial and technological capabilities to save as many Ukrainian lives as possible," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address.

Zelenskyy has been briefed on the situation in the shattered city by Ukrainian Military Commander Oleksandr Syrskyiand Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.

Russia has been trying to encircle and capture Avdiivka for nearly two years following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Kyiv’s foothold in the town appears increasingly shaky, with its supply lines threatened.

NATO and Ukraine will establish a center for the analysis of Russian military tactics used in the war, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Thursday.

He spoke after a NATO defence ministers meeting at the alliance headquarters in Brussels.

To be established in Bydgoszcz, a city located northwest of Warsaw in Poland, the center is intended for Ukrainian military personnel to share their experiences of combating the Russian army with NATO.

It wants to identify the weaknesses and strengths of the Russian military.

The center also creates "a structure for Ukrainian forces to learn and train alongside their Allied counterparts," Stoltenberg said.

During a press conference in Brussels, Stoltenberg said he believes the US House of Representatives will pass a multi-billion dollar assistance package for Ukraine. He said approving the aid is "based on the US security interests of now allowing President Putin to win," a reference to Russian leader to Vladimir Putin.   

Russia says it will ask the United Nations Security Council to discuss a deadly missile strike on Belgorod.

Local officials said at least six people, up from five earlier, were killed and 18 others injured in the attack on the Russian city near the border with Ukraine. 

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram the attack was an "act of terrorism by the Kyiv regime." 

Russia's defense ministry said its air defenses intercepted 14 Ukrainian rockets over the region at the time of the attack. 

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on the incident.

Belgorod lies about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the border with Ukraine and has been a regular target of Ukrainian fire, according to Russia. 

Ukraine needs $486 billion (€452 billion) to cover the costs of rebuilding after Russia's invasion, the World Bank, the European Union, the United Nations and the Ukrainian government have said.

"The total cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine over the next decade is $486 billion, up from $411 billion estimated a year ago," the European Commission said, summarizing the new report.

The assessment was prepared jointly by the four organizations. It said Ukraine would need $15 billion in 2024 alone for the most urgent reconstruction needs, such as repairing homes and critical transportation links.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said confiscated Russian assets should foot most of the bill. Ukraine is calling on the West to unlock some $300 billion in frozen Russian assets to help pay for the massive repair of its infrastructure.

A missile attack on the Russian city of Belgorod killed at least five people, the region's governor said.

"According to preliminary data, five people were killed in Belgorod, including a child, and another 18 people were injured, five of them children," Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

"Ambulances are taking the injured to medical centers. All necessary assistance is being provided," he added in a post on his Telegram channel.

Russian Defense Ministry said it had shot down 14 Ukrainian missiles over the region, which it said were fired from an RM-70 multiple rocket launcher system.

The city of Belgorod is about 30 kilometers (18.5 miles) from the border with Ukraine. Authorities began evacuating some residents from the city last month after officials said a Ukrainian attack in late December had killed 25 people.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy will sign a bilateral security agreement at the Elysee Palace on Friday, according to the French president's office.

"This agreement follows commitments made in the G7 format on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius in July 2023," Macron's office said Thursday.

The Elysee Palace did not give any details on the content of the agreement.  However, a month ago, Macron had promised Kyiv a support agreement similar to the one the UK had signed with Ukraine.

The agreement between the UK and Ukraine stipulates that London will support Ukraine now, but also in potential future conflicts with Russia. This includes rapid and long-term military assistance, but not the deployment of British soldiers.

The Ukrainian presidency has also confirmed Zelenskyy's visit to France and Germany on Friday and Saturday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to attend the Munich Security Conferenceon Saturday. During his visit to Germany, he will also meet with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and deliver a speech during the summit.

He will also hold a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines, including with US Vice President Kamala Harris, Czech President Petr Pavel, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

It would be the the first time Zelensky has attended the Munich Security Conference in person since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago. Last year, the Ukrainian president attended the conference via video link.

Some 50 world leaders are expected to attend the Munich Security Conference, which runs from Friday to Sunday.

Ukraine has sent more troops to the embattled eastern city of Avdiivka, which is is surrounded by Russian forces on three sides.

"The Third Separate Assault Brigade confirms that it was urgently redeployed to strengthen Ukrainian troops in the Avdiivka area," the brigade said in a post on its Telegram channel.

"The situation in the city ... was extremely critical," it added.

Meanwhile, military spokesman Dmytro Lykhoviy said Ukraine was conducting a maneuver in some areas of Avdiivka to withdraw troops to "more advantageous positions." In other places, Ukraine was trying to drive out Russian troops, he added.

Russian forces have been attacking Avdiivka since last year, and in recent weeks have made progress in their attempt to capture the city in the Donetsk region, with reports of street fighting on the outskirts.

NATO defense ministers are meeting in Brussels on Thursday to continue discussion on long-term support for Ukraine and the NATO target of spending 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense. 

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who was hospitalized at the weekend, will be represented by the US ambassador to NATO Julie Smith.

The talks at NATO headquarters have been overshadowed by comments from former US President Donald Trump, who said he would "encourage" the Kremlin to "do whatever the hell they want" to NATO member states that do not meet the spending requirement. 

Allies have agreed since 2006 that they should spend 2% of GDP on defense. However, only a few met this target before Russia extended its invasion of Crimea and the Donbas to the whole of Ukraine in February 2022. 

Sweden's accession to NATO, which is being held up by the Hungarian parliament's failure to ratify the decision, is also on the agenda. 

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the key message that could come out of the Munich Security Conference, set to begin on Friday, is that "the free, democratic world" will continue supporting Ukraine in its defense against Russia.  

Pistorius said Russia’s war in Ukraine concerned everyone, "because it would encourage autocrats and dictators of this world to do something similar if Putin were to get away with it."

He further criticized his party colleague Katarina Barley for initiating a debate about the EU having its own nuclear bomb.  "My opinion: You don't discuss this in public," he said.

Pistorius made the comments to the German news aggregator Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND). Previously, he dismissed this debate as unnecessary.

"We have the American nuclear deterrent, that has been agreed and I see no signs that this agreement will come to an end," Pistorius said on the fringes of NATO meetings in Brussels. 

Russian forces launched missiles overnight, targeting Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, Ukraine's officials said.

Officials reported explosions in the regions of Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv and Poltava.

In Kyiv, the local government said the "anti-aircraft defense destroyed all enemy missiles" aimed at the capital city.

Governor of the eastern Zaporizhzhia region said one person was injured and "an infrastructure object" was hit.

The Ukrainian air force reported that several Tu-95MS strategic bombers had taken off from the Olenya airfield in Russia's far north, prompting a nationwide air alert which lasted for over two hours.

Ukraine's air force later said that  the "missile threat is over" in a Telegram post.

Earlier in the day, Reuters said that witnesses reported several explosions in different parts of Kyiv.

Lviv mayor Andriy Sadovy had also reported the sound of explosions in the western city near Ukraine's border with Poland.

Russia and Ukraine have denied targeting civilians in attacks on each other's territories, claiming that their goal is to destroy important military, power, and transport infrastructure.

Nearly two years ago, on February 24, Russia invaded Ukraine in an escalation of the conflict between the two nations since 2014.

A US intelligence report, which was declassified in December, assessed that the war has cost Russia 315,000 dead and injured troops, or nearly 90% of the personnel it had when the conflict began. Kyiv treats its losses as a state secret. 

mk,dh/dj (Reuters, AFP, dpa)