As UK and France hold ‘coalition of the willing’ meeting to discuss Ukraine mission the Russian President steps up his ruthless Kremlin attacks on Kyiv’s civilians
Ukrainian capital Kyiv has been rocked by explosions as Russia launched another brutal drone attack aimed at hitting civilians. Drone attacks sparked fires across the city hours after Ukraine ’s President Volodymyr Zelensky accused the Kremlin of ‘dragging’ China into the war.
He was commenting having earlier revealed that two Chinese nationals have been taken prisoner whilst fighting alongside Russian troops. The Ukraine leader stormed: “Such an overt involvement of Chinese citizens in combat operations on the territory of Ukraine is a deliberate step towards expanding the war.” Beijing’s foreign ministry has denied the involvement of Chinese troops in Ukraine and it is possible the two men were hired mercenaries.
However Zelensky has stressed that “many more” Chinese citizens are involved in the war, whilst avoiding the word “soldiers.” The midnight attack on Kyiv left one person trapped and three injured.
Locals were rushed to air-raid shelters as sirens rang out. An overnight drone attack on the southern city of Mykolaiv injured ten from falling debris after drones were shot down and dozens of buildings were hit.
It comes as Moscow is stalling peace negotiations, frustrating US President Donald Trump ’s hopes to stop the war quickly, whilst Kyiv has been more open to talks and suggestions of a ceasefire,.
Kyiv’s forces have been hammering Kremlin positions and performing deep drone strikes inside Russia, hitting ammo, fuel depots and missile factories. It is believed Russia has lost 900,000 troops, killed or injured since the war began, plus several hundred warplanes and more than 10,000 tanks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is so short of recruits that he has taken on 11,000 North Korean soldiers, 5,000 of whom have been killed already.
It is feared several thousands reinforcements have been sent by North Korean despot Kim Jong Un to take up the slack left by those killed.
Ukrainian forces have repeatedly reported that North Korean soldiers are disorganised, poorly-trained and badly-equipped.
Britain and France are holding a meeting of defence ministers from around 30 countries on today (Thu) to press on with plans to deploy troops to Ukraine to police any future peace agreement.
The meeting at NATO headquarters – the first between defence ministers from the ‘coalition of the willing’ – comes after a visit to Kyiv last week by British and French military officers.
The US will not take part, but the success of the coalition rests upon U.S. backup with airpower or other military assistance. So far the Donald Trump administration has not said it will do so and it means Europe may have to take care Ukraine’s security in future.
The coalition of troops details will depend on the nature of any peace agreement, but the contingent is unlikely to be stationed at Ukraine’s border with Russia. It would be located further from the ceasefire line, perhaps even outside Ukraine, and deploy to counter any Russian attack. Building a force big enough to act as a credible deterrent is proving a considerable effort for nations that shrank their militaries after the Cold War but are now rearming.
U.K. officials have talked about possibly 10,000 to 30,000 troops. Countries are also reluctant to contribute personnel without U.S. support. Ukrainian government officials and military analysts suggest Russian forces are preparing to launch a fresh military offensive in Ukraine in the coming weeks to maximize pressure on Kyiv and strengthen the Kremlin’s negotiating position in ceasefire talks.
On Friday, representatives from around 50 nations will gather at NATO to drum up military support for Ukraine. That meeting will be chaired by Britain and Germany. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is not expected to take part.
