Ukraine endured another air assault from Russia on Thursday before European leaders committed to sending billions of dollars in military aid to Kyiv.
Russia targeted Kyiv with about 400 Shahed drones and 18 missiles, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. His air defenses reportedly stopped most of the aerial weapons. The strikes killed two and left 23 injured.
The strikes came as Mr. Zelenskyy prepared to meet a slew of European leaders in Rome for the Ukraine Recovery Conference. Addressing his peers later in the day, the Ukrainian leader pressed them to take aggressive action against Russia.
“We need a Marshall Plan-style approach, and we need to develop it together. We must clearly agree that frozen Russian assets should be used to rebuild Ukraine,” Mr. Zelenskyy said. “The assets themselves, not just the proceeds from them, must be used much more actively than now, to save people’s lives.”
Mr. Zelenskyy also pushed for increased defensive cooperation between Ukraine and its allies, boosting the production of drones and air defense software.
European leaders were receptive, with Kyiv securing $12 billion from participants to rebuild Ukraine, according to Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni.
Russia has recently accelerated its air and ground attacks against Ukraine, adding pressure on its defensive capabilities. On Wednesday, Russia launched over 700 drones and 13 missiles at Ukraine, the largest assault of the war.
Russia’s escalating offensive comes as Washington resumes weapons shipments to Ukraine following a temporary pause last week. The Pentagon had ordered the pause over concerns that U.S. stockpiles were running low.
On Monday, President Trump declared that the U.S. would resume sending hardware, asserting that Ukraine needs equipment to defend against Russia’s assaults.
Additionally, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Thursday, to discuss a “new and different” approach to peace. Mr. Rubio did not elaborate on the approach but added he would be bringing it before Mr. Trump.
“I wouldn’t characterize it as something that guarantees a peace, but it’s a concept that, you know, that I’ll take back to the president,” he said.
The meeting comes as the president grows increasingly frustrated with the peace process and with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mr. Trump had harsh words for the Russian leader this week, accusing him of not negotiating in good faith.
“We get a lot of bull—— thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth,” Mr. Trump said during a White House Cabinet meeting. “He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”
