Kyiv

The EU on Friday pledged to support Ukraine "every step of the way" in its quest for bloc membership as top officials gathered in Kyiv for a highly symbolic summit.

Germany said Friday it has issued authorisation for Leopard 1 tanks to be sent to Ukraine, in a further boost for Kyiv as it seeks heavier weapons to counter Moscow's forces.

Air raid alerts sounded in Kyiv and across Ukraine on Friday as a summit of European Union and Ukrainian leaders was due to begin in the country's capital.

European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyenarrived in Kyiv with a team of commissioners on Thursday. She is accompanied by 15 commissioners, including the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

Ukraine's prime minister announced that a summit with the European Union will take place in Kyiv on Friday that would send a "powerful signal" to Moscow and the world, almost a year after Russia launched its invasion.

Russian forces fired dozens of missiles at Ukraine on Thursday in a blistering wave of strikes targeting energy infrastructure, a day after Germany and the United States pledged heavy tanks for Kyiv.

The mayor of Ukraine's capital Kyiv said one person had been killed and two more were wounded on Thursday after Russia launched more than a dozen missiles in its latest large-scale aerial offensive.

Germany on Wednesday approved the delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, after weeks of pressure from Kyiv and many allies.

The Kremlin said Wednesday that if Western countries supply Ukraine with heavy tanks they will be destroyed on the battlefield, as Kyiv awaits a decision from Berlin on deliveries of Leopard 2 tanks.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged allies on Tuesday to speed up deliveries of heavy and more advanced weapons to repel Russian forces in Ukraine and expressed confidence that a decision on sending battle tanks to Kyiv would come soon.

Germany's foreign minister said on Sunday her government would not stand in the way if Poland wants to send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, in a possible breakthrough for Kyiv which wants the tanks for its fight against Russia's invasion.

Ukraine on Saturday blasted the "global indecision" of its allies after Germany refused to supply its vaunted Leopard tanks to bolster Kyiv's fighting capacity in the nearly year-long war with Russia.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said today that there were "several" theories being investigated to explain a helicopter crash that killed the country's interior minister and 13 others the previous day near Kyiv.

President Joe Biden offered condolences to the families of the more than a dozen people killed in a helicopter crash near Kyiv on Wednesday, reiterating the United States' "unfailing partnership" with Ukraine amid Russia's invasion.

18 dead, including two children, after helicopter crashes near kindergarten outside Kyiv: news agency AFP quoting police

The EU on Friday pledged to support Ukraine "every step of the way" in its quest for bloc membership as top officials gathered in Kyiv for a highly symbolic summit.

Germany said Friday it has issued authorisation for Leopard 1 tanks to be sent to Ukraine, in a further boost for Kyiv as it seeks heavier weapons to counter Moscow's forces.

Air raid alerts sounded in Kyiv and across Ukraine on Friday as a summit of European Union and Ukrainian leaders was due to begin in the country's capital.

European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyenarrived in Kyiv with a team of commissioners on Thursday. She is accompanied by 15 commissioners, including the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

Ukraine's prime minister announced that a summit with the European Union will take place in Kyiv on Friday that would send a "powerful signal" to Moscow and the world, almost a year after Russia launched its invasion.

Russian forces fired dozens of missiles at Ukraine on Thursday in a blistering wave of strikes targeting energy infrastructure, a day after Germany and the United States pledged heavy tanks for Kyiv.

The mayor of Ukraine's capital Kyiv said one person had been killed and two more were wounded on Thursday after Russia launched more than a dozen missiles in its latest large-scale aerial offensive.

Germany on Wednesday approved the delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, after weeks of pressure from Kyiv and many allies.

The Kremlin said Wednesday that if Western countries supply Ukraine with heavy tanks they will be destroyed on the battlefield, as Kyiv awaits a decision from Berlin on deliveries of Leopard 2 tanks.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged allies on Tuesday to speed up deliveries of heavy and more advanced weapons to repel Russian forces in Ukraine and expressed confidence that a decision on sending battle tanks to Kyiv would come soon.

Germany's foreign minister said on Sunday her government would not stand in the way if Poland wants to send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, in a possible breakthrough for Kyiv which wants the tanks for its fight against Russia's invasion.

Ukraine on Saturday blasted the "global indecision" of its allies after Germany refused to supply its vaunted Leopard tanks to bolster Kyiv's fighting capacity in the nearly year-long war with Russia.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said today that there were "several" theories being investigated to explain a helicopter crash that killed the country's interior minister and 13 others the previous day near Kyiv.

President Joe Biden offered condolences to the families of the more than a dozen people killed in a helicopter crash near Kyiv on Wednesday, reiterating the United States' "unfailing partnership" with Ukraine amid Russia's invasion.

18 dead, including two children, after helicopter crashes near kindergarten outside Kyiv: news agency AFP quoting police