NATO kicking off its Atlantic summit on Tuesday evening in Madrid addressed the economic, humanitarian and defence fallout from the nearly five months of the war. It has decided to increase troops assigned to its eastern flank. Meanwhile, Washington plans to send sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine as a response to Ukraine Prez Zelnesky’s longstanding request.

Two Russian missiles slammed into a crowded shopping centre in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk on Monday, killing at least 18 people and wounding 59, officials said. This comes as Moscow fought for control of a key eastern city and Western leaders promised to support Kyiv in the war “as long as it takes”. Kremenchuk, a city in central Ukraine, is the latest of a series of sites which have come under attack from Russian missiles.

On the contrary, Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to travel to Tajikistan on Tuesday and later visit Turkmenistan for a summit of Caspian Sea nations, his spokesman said, in the first foreign trip by the Russian leader since the invasion of Ukraine in February.

Russian troops and their Luhansk Republic allies are advancing into Lysychansk and street battles have erupted, said the ambassador to Moscow of the Luhansk People’s Republic, recognised only by Russia.

Shellings in Kharkiv escalated, hitting apartment buildings and a primary school, killing five people and wounding 22 including children, the regional governor said.