Next week, officials from NATO and Ukraine will convene to address Russia’s ongoing air attacks on Ukraine, which have intensified since the beginning of the year.

On Thursday, NATO representative Dylan White announced that NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will organize a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council on January 10 in response to recent missile and drone strikes carried out by Russia.

Ukrainian leaders have urged for support from their allies in strengthening the country’s air defenses, as Russia continues to unleash daily missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities.

In the last week, there were two particularly intense nights of Russian aggression, with numerous missiles and drones aimed at Kyiv, the capital city.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba announced that enhancing Ukrainian air defenses would be a primary focus of the NATO-Ukraine Council meeting. He emphasized the significance of these discussions as a demonstration of solidarity against increased Russian aggression.

Kuleba urged allies to expeditiously deliver air defense systems and ammunition to Ukraine, as well as provide combat drones and missiles with a range of over 300 kilometers to Ukrainian forces.

Kuleba also urged for permission to utilize confiscated Russian assets to aid Ukraine and to isolate Russian diplomats.

On Thursday, Ukraine reported that Russia carried out more air strikes overnight using two drones, which were subsequently shot down by Ukrainian air defenses in the Khmelnytskyi region.

According to the Ukrainian air force, the Russian assault involved three guided missiles that were aimed at Kharkiv and Donetsk.

The source of some data in this report is Agence France-Presse and Reuters.