???? Live: NATO members gather in Vilnius, Ukraine seeks security guarantees

Issued on: 11/07/2023 – 06:53

04:00am: Russia launches overnight air attack on Kyiv 

Russia launched an overnight air strike on Kyiv, with air defence systems engaged in repelling the attack, Serhiy Popko, head of the military administration of the Ukrainian capital, said on the Telegram messaging app.

“The enemy attacked Kyiv from the air for the second time this month, Serhiy Popko, a head of Kyiv’s military administration, said in a post on the Telegram channel.

According to preliminary information, Ukraine’s air defence systems shot down all the Iranian-made Shahed drones Russia launched before they reached their targets, Popko said.

There was no immediate information about damage or casualties. Air raid alerts blasted over Kyiv for an hour and longer in other parts of Ukraine’s east, according to Ukraine’s Air Force.

03:00am: Russian diplomats berate US, NATO over Ukraine

The US is pushing NATO to the “most unfavourable” confrontation with Moscow with the decisions expected from the alliance’s summit in Lithuania this week, while Kyiv’s allies are “losing” in Ukraine, Russian diplomats said late on Monday.

The Kremlin has been angered by the expected solidarity with Ukraine at the NATO summit which starts on Tuesday, saying Kyiv’s potential membership in the alliance would be a threat to Russia and Moscow will react clearly and firmly.

Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said the United States is preparing anti-Russian decisions at the NATO summit.

“Everything is being done to prepare the local public opinion for the approval of any anti-Russian decisions that will be made in Vilnius in the coming days,” Antonov said in a post on the embassy’s Telegram channel.

12:56am: Zelensky says he understands Ukraine will be in NATO

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday he expects the NATO summit in Vilnius to confirm that Ukraine is already a “de facto” member of the military alliance and work out an “algorithm” for Kyiv to officially join it.

“When we applied for membership of NATO, we spoke frankly: de facto, Ukraine is already in the alliance. Our weapons are the weapons of the alliance. Our values are what the alliance believes in. … Vilnius must confirm all this,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address.

“We are still working on the wording, that is, on the specific words of such confirmation, but we already understand the fact that Ukraine will be in the alliance, and we are working to make the algorithm for gaining membership as clear and fast as possible.”

Key developments from Monday, July 10:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that the majority of NATO members stood with his country and summit in Vilnius must confirm Ukraine as a de facto member of the military alliance.

Kyiv on Monday said that Ukrainian troops had captured key heights around the eastern city of Bakhmut in its counteroffensive.

Read yesterday’s live blog to see how all the day’s events unfolded.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)