Biden slams Putin in Nato summit speech after ‘hell of attack’ on Ukraine hospital

The sky was crystal clear as Oksana Femeniuk took her daughter to Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital for routine dialysis.

Around 10 a.m, air-raid sirens blared. Sixteen-year old Solomiia was undergoing the treatment that required her to sit still for up to five hours and could not be interrupted. Her mother had to flee to the hospital’s basement shelter without her.

Hurtling toward them at 700-800 kilometers (435-497 miles) per hour was a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile, according to Ukraine’s security service, the United Nations and open-source investigators. Using painstaking trial and error, Russia has modified the weapon over the last year to defeat Ukraine’s air defense systems by flying at low altititude and hugging terrain, according to military analysts.

75 years after 12 countries came together in Washington to sign a historic mutual defense pact in the wake of the Second World War, the president touted the alliance’s progress before leaders representing the 32 treaty signatories at the annual NATO leaders’ summit.

Speaking before an audience of NATO leaders, including newly-minted British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Biden said the North Atlantic Treaty, that the alliance birthed 75 years ago, is stronger and more vital than ever and promised it would continue to support Ukraine’s defense needs.

“We know Putin won’t stop at Ukraine, but make no mistake, Ukraine can and will stop Putin,” he said. The US and partner nations intend to provide Ukraine with five “strategic air defense systems” in the coming months and “dozens” of “tactical air defense systems”, Biden added.

Joe Biden has announced another major air defence package for Ukraine, and said the war-hit nation’s allies will back Ukrainian forces for as long as needed.

“The United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Italy will provide Ukraine with… five additional strategic air defence systems,” Mr Biden said.

“In the coming months, the United States and our partners intend to provide Ukraine with dozens of additional tactical air defence systems. The United States will make sure that when we export critical air defence interceptors, Ukraine goes to the front of the line,” the US president said in Washington as Nato summit began.

The outgoing Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that the alliance had signed the Stinger contract.

“There is no way to provide strong defence without a strong defense industry,” Mr Stoltenberg said while announcing the contract.

The new prime minister, an avid Arsenal fan, will be unable to watch one of his favourite players Bukayo Saka and his team mates take on the Dutch on Wednesday for the right to play Spain in Sunday’s final.

Worse still, Sir Keir’s phone will be taken off him for security reasons as he joins other Nato leaders for talks on Ukraine at the Nato summit in Washington DC.

It means that he will not be able to quietly check the score in the middle of the talks on how to deal with Vladimir Putin.

Speaking to journalists on his flight over to the summit in the USA, the new prime minister insisted that the defence and security of Britain and its allies will be his first priority.

But he again declined to give a timetable for when his “iron clad commitment” to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent will come into force.

His comments came as it emerged he had not been included in a discussion on air cover for Ukraine organised by the US government and including other allies.

But Sir Keir made it clear in the press briefing that he believes the summit over the next few days will “lock in” financial aid to Ukraine for its war effort.

Mr Modi brought up the matter during a private dinner hosted by Mr Putin on Monday, news agency PTI reported, citing unnamed sources. The Indian leader is on a two-day visit to Moscow.

Russia was expected to formally announce the decision to discharge all Indians from its military following official talks on Tuesday.

There was a “high likelihood” that Kyiv’s major children’s hospital took a direct hit from a Russian missile during a series of airstrikes on Ukrainian cities, a UN human rights mission said.

“Analysis of the video footage and an assessment made at the incident site indicates a high likelihood that the children’s hospital suffered a direct hit rather than receiving damage due to an intercepted weapon system,” the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said.

Ukraine’s security service said it had unequivocal evidence the medical facility was hit by a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile during the deadliest series of strikes in months, and published images of what it said were fragments of the weapon’s engine.

A Russian missile attack directed against Ukraine’s top children’s hospital was one of the most “painful” days in the country’s recent history, the mayor of Kyiv, where the missile hit, has told The Independent.

Vitali Klitschko, a former boxing world heavyweight champion turned politician, cut an uncharacteristically tired figure as he recounted Monday’s events.

“It is very painful to spend time with parents who can’t find their children, to see them crying,” he said. “We are still working in the rubble to try to find those that are missing. I hope we find them alive. There’s a lot still of people missing. I call it genocide. Genocide.”