War in Ukraine: series of drone attacks in kyiv, increase in the Russian Defense budget… update on the situation

Ukraine reports series of Russian drone attacks on kyiv

Russia launched several rounds of drone attacks on the Ukrainian capital kyiv on Monday morning, where air defense systems were activated for several hours to repel the strikes, the Ukrainian military said.

No casualties have yet been reported by the Ukrainian authorities. Reuters journalists heard several explosions in kyiv appearing to come from air defense system activity and saw objects exploding in the sky over the Ukrainian capital.

kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported drone debris near a residential building. Emergency services are on site, he added. All drones launched at the capital were either destroyed by defense systems or neutralized, Serhiy Popko, the head of kyiv’s military administration, said on the Telegram messaging app.

The Ukrainian Air Force clarified via Telegram that several groups of Russian drones were launched in the direction of kyiv and western Ukraine. It says it has shot down 67 of 73 drones and one of three missiles launched by Russia. According to the regional governor of kyiv, Ruslan Kravchenko, the attack caused fires in five localities without causing any casualties.

In the Mykolaiv region, the Russian attack caused a fire in critical infrastructure, Governor Vitali Kim said. Moscow had no immediate comment on the attack.

25% increase in defense spending in 2025

The share of defense spending in the Russian budget will increase by 25% in 2025 to 13.5 trillion rubles (130.27 billion euros) compared to 10.8 trillion rubles in 2024, according to elements of the preliminary draft budget made public on Monday. In total, Defense will represent 32% of national spending in 2025, which will amount to 41.5 trillion rubles.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov recently said that the war effort in Ukraine remains the priority for public finances. This effort should be reduced to 12.8 trillion rubles in 2026.

NATO must support Ukraine despite Putin’s nuclear comments

Members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) must continue to provide military aid to Ukraine despite “reckless rhetoric on nuclear power” of Vladimir Putin, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with Reuters on Monday.

Jens Stoltenberg was reacting to a statement by Vladimir Putin last week that Russia could use nuclear weapons if hit by conventional missiles and would consider any assault backed by a nuclear power a joint attack.

The Russian president’s warning comes as the United States and its allies deliberate whether to allow Ukraine to fire Western conventional missiles toward Russia. kyiv says it wants permission to strike targets that are part of Russia’s war effort.

“We see a pattern of reckless nuclear rhetoric and messaging from Russia”declared Jens Stoltenberg, who handed over leadership of NATO to former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Tuesday, after a decade at the head of the organization.

“Every time we increased our support with new types of weapons – battle tanks, long-range weapons or F-16s – the Russians tried to stop us“, he also told Reuters at NATO headquarters. “They did not succeed and this latest example should not prevent NATO allies from supporting Ukraine”declared the NATO Secretary General.