Russia targets Ukraine as top EU diplomat visits Kyiv

Russia has launched a series of missile and drone attacks across Ukraine as the European Union’s top diplomat visits Kyiv on Wednesday.

Russia’s attacks Wednesday morning struck at least three Ukrainian cities, including the capital city of Kyiv, The Associated Press reported. Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, said he began his morning in an air raid center in Kyiv, where he was to discuss military and financial support for Ukraine.

“Starting my morning in the shelter as air alarms are sounding across Kyiv. This is the daily reality of the brave Ukrainian people, since Russia launched its illegal aggression,” Borrell wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Ukraine’s armed forces on Wednesday said that they had intercepted 44 of the 64 drones and missiles sent from Russia in the morning attack, according to the AP. The Russian Defense Ministry said it hit all of its targets, which included Ukrainian factories that manufacture sea drones, coastal defense missile systems and rockets and explosives, the AP reported.

The AP reported four people were killed in Kyiv, according to the State Emergency Service, while one man was killed and six others injured in the southern city of Mykolaiv.

The EU has been crucial in providing aid and support to Ukraine as the country nears its two-year mark of fighting with Russia. The EU approved a $54 billion package for Ukraine last week, which will help support Ukraine over the next four years.

Borrell’s visit to Kyiv and the recent approval of the EU aid packages come as the United States, a main supporter of Ukraine, has struggled to come up with another aid package for the embattled country. The latest effort to secure an aid deal for Ukraine collapsed Tuesday after a bipartisan Senate deal on border security fell apart.

Now, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is planning to bring a package on funding for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific region to the floor Wednesday.

The Associated Press contributed.