Nato countries to boost Ukraine's missile defence after massive Russian strikes - BBC

Ukraine's Nato-led allies person announced deliveries of precocious aerial defence weapons to Kyiv, aft a spate of Russian rocket strikes.

The weaponry promised by the UK, Canada, France and the Netherlands includes missiles and radars. The US earlier made a akin pledge. One high-tech strategy from Germany is already successful Ukraine.

The pledges travel arsenic Ukraine's allies from 50 countries conscionable astatine Nato office successful Brussels.

Kyiv hailed the acme arsenic "historic".

Ukraine says Russia fired much than 100 missiles and utilized dozens of drones connected Monday and Tuesday, hitting vigor infrastructure and different non-military targets.

At slightest 19 radical were killed connected the archetypal time of the strikes.

They besides resulted successful wide powerfulness cuts and h2o proviso disruption successful a fig of Ukrainian cities. The authorities successful the superior Kyiv had to edifice to energy rationing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says the rocket strikes were retaliation for an onslaught connected a cardinal span linking Russia and Crimea - Ukraine's confederate peninsula annexed by Moscow successful 2014.

Russia says Saturday's blast was organised by Ukraine's quality bureau - a assertion rubbished by Kyiv.

The UK volition donate aerial defence missiles, arsenic good arsenic hundreds of aerial drones to enactment Ukraine's accusation gathering and logistics capabilities. It volition besides supply 18 howitzer artillery guns successful summation to the 64 already delivered.

"Russia's latest indiscriminate strikes connected civilian areas successful Ukraine warrant further enactment to those seeking to support their nation," said Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.

"These weapons volition assistance Ukraine support its skies from attacks and fortify their wide rocket defence."

Speaking aft the Brussels gathering connected Wednesday, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said "we're going to bash everything we tin to marque definite that they [Ukrainians] they person what's required to beryllium effective".

French President Emmanuel Macron said Paris would proviso aerial defence systems to Ukraine.

In an interrogation to France 2 television, helium did not specify which systems would beryllium sent. But helium did accidental their main relation would beryllium to support the colonisation from drones.

The Netherlands said it would present €15m (£13m; $14.5m) worthy of aerial defence missiles.

Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren said the Russian attacks "can lone beryllium met with unrelenting enactment for Ukraine and its people".

Canada pledged to supply much than C$47m ($34m; £31m) worthy of subject aid, including outer communications and drone cameras.

The UK is expected to denote its weapons deliveries shortly.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's subject announced earlier connected Wednesday that the archetypal of respective "state-of-the-art IRIS-T SLM has been delivered from Germany to Ukraine". It said the aerial defence strategy would assistance support the state "against terror".

President Zelensky has for months been asking Ukraine's allies to supply aerial defence systems to make an "air shield" for Ukraine.

In his video code precocious connected Wednesday, the Ukrainian person said: "The much audacious and cruel Russian panic becomes, the much evident it is to the satellite that helping Ukraine to support the entity is 1 of the astir important humanitarian tasks for Europe of our time."

"I judge that we volition header with this task," helium added.

Russia has repeatedly warned Ukraine's allies against supplying precocious weaponry to Kyiv, stressing this would marque them participants of the warfare that Mr Putin began connected 24 February.

The West has accused Moscow of atomic sabre-rattling, pursuing a drawstring of Russian subject defeats connected the battlefield.