Ukraine war briefing: Nato chief visits Odesa, declares ‘unwavering’ support for Kyiv

Nato secretary general Mark Rutte has visited the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and declared “unwavering” support for Ukraine in the aftermath of a Russian attack on the northern city of Sumy that killed 35 people. Rutte said the military alliance was still strongly behind Kyiv, even as it also supported the ceasefire push by US president Donald Trump, who has issued fresh criticism of Zelenskyy, accusing him of starting the war. “Nato stands with Ukraine,” Rutte said at a press conference with Zelenskyy on Tuesday. “You and I know that this has been true all along. I also know that some have called Nato’s support into question in the last couple of months. But let there be no doubt: our support is unwavering.” Rutte also said: “Russia is the aggressor, Russia started this war. There’s no doubt.” Zelenskyy said the main focus of the talks was strengthening Ukraine’s air defence. “Absolutely everyone sees how urgent Ukraine’s need is for air defence systems and missiles for them,” he posted on X.

A “massive” Russian drone attack on Odesa overnight injured three people, sparked fires and damaged homes and civilian infrastructure, Ukrainian officials said early on Wednesday. Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov posted photos on Telegram depicting a residential building and other structures that had been nearly destroyed, while others showed emergency workers sifting through rubble. The full scale of the attack was not immediately clear. There was no immediate comment from Russia.

Ukraine’s military said it had hit a base belonging to the Russian rocket brigade that conducted the Palm Sunday missile attack on Sumy. The Ukrainian strike caused a “secondary detonation of ammunition” and the results “are being clarified”, the military said on Telegram on Tuesday. World leaders have condemned the Sumy attack, Ukraine’s deadliest of 2025, and Zelenskyy called it an act of deliberate terror. Ukraine moved on Tuesday to dismiss Sumy governor Volodymyr Artyukh after he made comments implying the Russian attack had targeted a military gathering.

Sweden said it had summoned the Russian ambassador to its foreign ministry to protest against Moscow’s attacks on Ukraine’s cities and civilian population. “Russia’s responsibility to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure in accordance with international humanitarian law was emphasised to the Russian ambassador during his appearance,” the Swedish foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

China rejected what it called “manipulation and hype” around two of its nationals captured in Ukraine after Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Moscow of dragging Beijing into the war and said hundreds of Chinese nationals were fighting on the frontline. “China is verifying the relevant information and circumstances,” foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said about the prisoners of war, urging “relevant parties to accurately understand China’s objective and impartial stance”. Ukraine held a press conference on Monday at which the two Chinese prisoners of war under armed guard said they hoped to be in a prisoner swap and warned other Chinese nationals not to go to fight.

A court in St Petersburg has jailed a woman for five years and two months for criticising the Russian army on social media, allegedly after she was denounced by her neighbour. Anna Aleksandrova, a 47-year-old hairdresser, was arrested in November 2023 over posts she made under a pseudonym on VKontakte, Russia’s largest social network. Prosecutors accused her of giving information about how to avoid military mobilisation and of posting information critical of Moscow’s Ukraine offensive. Aleksandrova pleaded not guilty at the trial, saying she was set up by a neighbour, with whom she was embroiled in a land dispute, according to the Mediazona news outlet.

A Ukrainian drone strike on the Russian city of Kursk killed an elderly woman and wounded nine others on Tuesday, local authorities said. Six of the injured were hospitalised for shrapnel wounds, burns and head injuries, they said. A Kyiv official alluded to the attack on social media but claimed a military target had been hit in the regional capital, about 90km from the Ukrainian border.

A Russian military court has sentenced five young people for up to 18 years in jail after finding them guilty of setting fire to railway infrastructure and a helicopter outside Moscow last year, the state news agency Tass reported. It cited state prosecutors as saying that the group – then aged 19 to 22 – had acted on the orders of people close to Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency. GUR posted video at the time purporting to show the helicopter – which it said belonged to the Russian defence ministry – on fire, but it did not claim responsibility for the attack.