Ukraine war: More than 20 drones shot down in latest attack

By Oliver Slow, BBC News

At least two people have been injured in an overnight Russian drone attack on the Kyiv, authorities say.

Roughly 20 Iran-made drones were shot down over the city's airspace, according to the Ukrainian air force.

It was the third night of attacks in a row on the capital, coming just hours after the end of the NATO summit in Lithuania.

Debris was reported in five districts and at least two people were sent to hospital with shrapnel wounds.

The air force reported that two Russian kalibr cruise missiles fired from a ship in the Black Sea were shot down by air defences, while information about the impact of an Iskander-M ballistic missile fired from Crimea was still being collected.

The previous two days' NATO summit in Vilnius saw Western support for Ukraine at the top of the agenda.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky used his attendance to push for Ukrainian membership of the alliance, but was told this would only be possible "when allies agree and conditions are met".

This lack of a solid timeframe appeared to anger the Ukrainian president, who called it "absurd". He had earlier said there seemed to be "no readiness" to invite Ukraine to NATO or make it a member.

He also expressed concern that Ukraine's membership could be used as part of a bargaining chip during post-war negotiations with Russia.

But by the end of the summit, Zelensky had a more optimistic take on developments.

In his nightly address on Wednesday, he said he was returning home "with a good result for our country", namely a reinforcement of weapons as well as a path towards NATO membership.

"We have put to rest any doubts and ambiguities about whether Ukraine will be in NATO - it will," he said, adding that for the first time "a significant majority" of members are "vigorously pushing" for it.

He also praised the signing of a wide-ranging security pact with G7 members, saying his country now had "concrete security guarantees" from the world's leading democracies.

Speaking at the summit, US President Joe Biden also praised NATO unity, something he said Russian President Vladimir Putin had underestimated when he launched his invasion against Ukraine.

This story was originally published by the BBC.