Officials said Russian missiles hit more than 40 Ukrainian cities and towns on Thursday, as NATO allies gathering in Brussels outlined measures to bolster up Europe’s air defences after committing more military aid to Kyiv.
The new pronouncements prompted Moscow to reiterate its warning that Western powers’ assistance made them a “direct party to the conflict,” and that admitting Ukraine to NATO could spark World War Three.
“Kyiv is well aware that such a step would mean a guaranteed escalation to a World War Three,” Russia’s Security Council deputy secretary, Alexander Venediktov, told the Russian TASS news agency on Thursday, as the US vowed to protect “every inch” of alliance territory.
Moscow has frequently defended the Feb. 24 invasion, which it terms a “special operation,” by claiming that Ukraine’s desire to join the alliance presented a threat to Russia’s security.
NATO is unlikely to admit Ukraine anytime soon, not least because participation during a war would put the US and its allies in direct conflict with Russia.
NATO had been dragging its heels on Ukrainian membership even before the war. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signalled his willingness to accept neutrality shortly after Russia’s incursion in February.
On September 30, hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared partially occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia as Russian territory, Zelenskiy filed a fast-track petition to join. more info
Russian missiles have targeted more than 40 communities in the last 24 hours, while the Ukrainian air force has carried out 32 strikes on 25 Russian targets, according to Ukraine’s Armed Forces General Staff.
According to local officials, the southern port city of Mykolaiv was heavily bombarded.
“A number of civilian objects have been hit,” regional governor Vitaly Kim said in a social media post.
According to him, the top two levels of a five-story residential building were completely destroyed, with the rest reduced to rubble.
