Ukraine updates: Several killed in Russian missile strikes

The US, which is currently unable to send Ukraine the weaponry it needs to fight off the Russian invasion, has told a group of almost 50 countries wanting to support Kyiv that they should make every effort to provide it with assistance.

"I urge this group to dig deep to provide Ukraine with more lifesaving ground-based air defense systems and interceptors," US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in opening remarks broadcast from his home, where he is still recuperating after prostate cancer surgery.

"The security of the entire international community is on the line in Ukraine's fight. I am more determined than ever to work with our allies and partners to support Ukraine and to get the job done," he added.

Austin's virtual appearance at the 18th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which he founded in April 2022, is his first public one since he wassecretly hospitalized.

Since announcing a last $250 million (€230 million) security assistance package for Ukraine on December 27, the US has not been able to provide additional munitions to Kyiv amid a stalemate in Congress that has blocked additional funds.

Washington has provided Ukraine more than $44.2 billion in security assistance since Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022.  

Teams in Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv have been digging through rubble search for survivors after a building gave way. 

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said an entire section of a multistory residential building was destroyed, trapping an unknown number of people with temperatures at minus 7 degrees Celsius. 

Some 30 apartment buildings were damaged in the early-morning strikes, the Terekhov said.

Tuesday's strikes also killed one person in the southeastern city of Pavlohrad, the regional governor said.

In the capital, Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said some 20 people were wounded in an attack that set buildings and cars ablaze in districts near the center of the city.

Tuesday's early-morning strikes carried out on Ukraine by Russian forces, in which at least four civilians reportedly died, targeted military facilities, Russia's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

Officials said the strikes in Kyiv and Kharkiv were aimed, among other things, at factories producing rockets, explosives and ammunition.

The statement from the ministry comes as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov once more denied that Russia was targeting civilians in Ukraine during what it has called its "special military operation."

Responding to a question as to whether Moscow was retaliating for what it claims was a Ukrainian artillery attack on the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, Peskov said the strikes were unrelated.

"We are continuing our special military operation and our military does not hit social facilities and residential neighborhoods and does not hit civilians," he said. He accused Ukrainian artillery of targeting Russian civilians, without providing any evidence.

Russian airstrikes and shelling have killed thousands of Ukrainian civilians since Moscow began a full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he has invited Swedish Premier Ulf Kristersson to discuss Sweden's NATO accession, with Hungary and Turkey the last NATO members not to have approved Sweden's bid.

Orban has long promised that his country would not be the final NATO member to ratify Sweden's bid, but he will break his word if the Turkish parliament votes on Tuesday to approve Stockholm joining the military alliance.

Admission into NATO requires unanimity among all member countries.

As a reason for the delay, Orban has said some lawmakers from his ruling right-wing populist Fidesz party have objected to criticism leveled by Swedish politicians at Budapest over the state of democracy in Hungary.

However, neither Orban nor his senior officials have indicated what assurances they require from Stockholm to pave the way for Budapest's green light.

Unless an emergency session of Hungary's parliament is called to debate the matter, its next scheduled assembly is expected on February 26.

The Turkish Parliament is to vote on Tuesday on whether to ratify Sweden's accession to NATO.

The vote comes after a long delay, with Ankara claiming that Stockholm supported groups that Turkey classifies as "terrorists" — notably the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

In October, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at last asked the parliament to start the voting process on Sweden after Stockholm tightened its anti-terrorism laws.

Erdogan has, however, also linked the Turkish vote to the US' pending approval of F-16 fighter jet sales to Ankara.

If Turkey ratifies the accession on Tuesday, Hungary will then be the only NATO member that has not yet approved Sweden's bid to join the military alliance. All NATO members must give their approval for Sweden to be able to join.

Sweden and Finland asked to join NATO in the face of the threat of Russian aggression after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Finland joined in April last year, but Sweden's bid has hit several obstacles.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Tuesday announced that it has signed a $1.2 billion (€1.1 billion) contract with companies from Germany and France to produce more than 200,000 155 millimeter shells to NATO members, part of which will be supplied to Ukraine.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that increasing weapons production is important in order to continue supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

The 155 millimeter shells are to be used in the Caesar and Panzerhaubitze 2000 artillery systems, as NATO's Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) announced on Tuesday. NATO signed the contract with France's Nexter Munitions and Germany's Junghans Microtec. 

The first deliveries will take around 24 months, said NSPA Director General Stacy Cummings.

While addressing reporters in Brussels, Stoltenberg said he does not see any imminent threat from Russia to any NATO ally. 

"We do all of this to ensure that we have the forces in place to remove any room for miscalculation or misunderstanding in Moscow about our readiness to protect every inch of NATO territory, and as long as we do that, there will be no attack against the NATO territory," he said.

NATO artillery stocks have been drained by shipments to Ukraine, to help its forces fight off Russia's invasion. During Kyiv's offensive in the summer of 2023, Ukraine was firing around 4,000 to 7,000 artillery shells each day, according to European Union estimates.

 

The US will host a monthly meeting of 50 countries on Tuesday on providing continued military support for Ukraine. 

Although it's the first time the meeting will be held in the US since the group was established by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in April 2022, it comes amid Congressional gridlock on approving a budget to provide Ukraine with more military funding.

Until Congress approves a budget, the US will be unable to provide additional munitions to Ukraine. Instead, the US is asking other countries to provide more military aid. 

The meeting will emphasize Ukraine's long-term needs, deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters.

"Even though we aren't able to provide our security assistance right now, our partners are continuing to do that," Singh said.

The meeting will be held virtually since Austin is still recovering from complications of treatment for prostate cancer.

The last security assistance sent to Ukraine by the US was on December 27. The $250-million package included 155 mm rounds, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and other high-demand items drawn from existing US stockpiles.

Since the start of Russia's war in Ukraine, the US has provided Ukraine with more than $44.2 billion in security assistance.

Russia on Tuesday launched an airstrike on the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Kharkiv, killing at least six people and injuring several others including children, officials said.

"Explosions in the city! Details later. Don't leave the shelters!" Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app.

"According to preliminary data, children received shrapnel injuries ... and one woman was also injured," in Kharkiv, said Sergiy Bolvinov, head of the Kharkiv region's investigative department.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram that an entire section of a multistory residential building had been destroyed, trapping an unknown number of people. 

"There are people under the rubble," he said. 

Two people were killed and at least 11 were injured in Kharkiv, according to the regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov.

In Kyiv, a nonresidential building was damaged in Pechersk district. 

Military officials said air defense systems were able repel 21 of 41 Russian missiles fired. 

Russian attacks in recent months have tried finding gaps in Ukraine's defense systems by overwhelming them with missiles.