KIEV, UKRAINE: Ukrainian officials said Wednesday a deadly Russian missile attack hit the northern city of Chernihiv.

Chernihiv Mayor Oleksandr Lomako said on Telegram at least eight people were killed and 18 others injured.

Vyacheslav Chaus, the regional governor, said several missiles struck near the center of the city.

“There are victims among civilians and many injured,” Chaus said.

Russia’s defense ministry reported Wednesday destroying a Ukrainian drone over the Mordovia region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Tuesday that he would request a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council “to discuss the protection of the skies, the supply of anti-aircraft warfare, relevant systems and missiles.”

Zelenskyy has repeatedly urged allies to provide Ukraine with more help in defending against Russian drone and missile attacks, and in recent days he has drawn comparisons to the multi-national effort to defend Israel from an Iranian drone and missile attack.

In his Tuesday address he cited comments by officials from other countries who drew distinctions between the conflicts. Zelenskyy said the Iranian-made Shahed drones are the same, as are the human lives involved.

“We value every life equally. We must do so. We must protect them from terror on the same level,” Zelenskyy said.

G7 talks

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is joining his counterparts from the Group of Seven leading industrial nations for talks in Italy, where the State Department said he will discuss U.S. concerns about China’s support for Russia’s defense industrial base.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Tuesday that over the past months, the United States has observed materials being transferred from China to Russia. Russia is using the materials to rebuild its defense industrial base and produce arms that are showing up on the battlefield in Ukraine.

“We are incredibly concerned about that,” Miller said.

The United States has long communicated its concerns to China about any actions that could support Russia’s war in Ukraine, U.S. officials say. This includes not only direct military support but also steps taken by Chinese companies to reconstitute Russia’s defense industrial base.

“The secretary does plan to travel to China in the coming weeks,” Miller added. “That is an issue that he would be expected to raise.”

VOA