New NATO chief Rutte pledges alliance’s support for Ukraine in Kyiv visit

New NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Thursday the alliance knows Ukraine has urgent needs in its fight against Russia’s invasion, as he visited Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Rutte told reporters it was important for him to go to Ukraine at this time “to make crystal clear to you, to the people of Ukraine and to everyone watching that NATO stands with Ukraine.”

Rutte said he and Zelenskyy discussed areas where Ukraine needs extra support and the ways in which NATO allies are working to meet those needs.

“NATO stands with Ukraine, for your security and for ours,” he said.

Zelenskyy said he discussed his “victory plan” and reiterated calls for Ukrainian allies providing weapons to allow those weapons to be used to strike targets deep inside Russia.

The militaries of Ukraine and Russia each reported Thursday shooting down a large number of aerial drones used in overnight attacks, with both sides targeting multiple regions in their assaults.

Ukrainian air defenses destroyed 78 of 105 Russian drones, Ukraine’s air force said.

Intercepts took place over the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Odesa, Poltava, Rivne, Sumy, Vinnytsia, and Zhytomyr regions.

Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhii Lysak said a drone attack on the city of Nikopol injured three people and damaged a house and gas pipeline.

Officials in Odesa said the attacks damaged power lines and cut electricity to thousands of people.

Serhii Popko, head of Kyiv’s City Military Administration, said on Telegram that air raid warnings were active for more than five hours as multiple waves of Russian drones flew toward the capital. Popko said there was no damage reported from the attacks.

The governor of Kirovohrad said there was damage to a residential building, while the governor of Poltava reported damage to six commercial buildings from falling drone debris.

Russia’s military said it destroyed an ammunition depot in Donetsk.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down 113 Ukrainian drones, with more than half destroyed over the Belgorod region that borders Ukraine.

Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram the attacks injured one person and damaged several homes.

Russian air defenses also shot down drones over the Bryansk, Kursk and Voronezh regions.

Ukraine said it used ballistic missiles to strike a Russian radar station in an attack that will reduce Russia’s ability to detect and intercept Ukrainian missiles.

Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.