TOP OF THE AGENDA

Attacks renew Nato focus on Ukraine war

A search for survivors beneath the rubble of Kyiv's children's hospital continued into the early hours of Tuesday. Credit: Reuters

Russia's latest wave of missile strikes on Ukrainian cities has renewed focus on the war ahead of the 75th Nato summit hosted by US President Joe Biden. Mr Biden has condemned the attacks that killed at least 41 people and injured 166 in cities across the country on Monday as a "horrific reminder of Russia's brutality" and he vowed to strengthen Kyiv's air defences. The conflict was already top of the summit's agenda, but the attacks add urgency to Ukraine's request for new US-made Patriot air defence systems. Western officials have so far been reluctant to supply any more of the limited number of surface-to-air batteries scattered across the Nato alliance. Meanwhile, in Russia, the governor of the Rostov border region said a fire had broken out at a power plant after Ukraine launched "tens" of drones on Tuesday morning.

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• Day of mourning: Flags were flown at half-mast in Kyiv as Ukraine reels from one of the worst waves of Russian missile strikes in months.

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• Vitali Klitschko: In an impassioned interview following the strikes, Kyiv's mayor called Russian attacks "genocide".

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• Ukrainian refugees: A mother and her two children have left Kharkiv for the UK for a second time due to the intensifying bombings of the city. They had fled in 2022 but returned home by the end of that year. 

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