TOP HEADLINES

· Another wave of Russian missiles rained down on more than 40 Ukrainian cities and towns on Thursday, Moscow's second widespread aerial bombardment of its neighbor in just four days. The southern port city of Mykolaiv came under particularly heavy fire. READ MORE BELOW

· As NATO allies unveiled plans to beef up Europe's air defenses after committing more military aid to Kyiv, Russia said the West, by helping Ukraine, was essentially being "a direct party to the conflict." It warned that if Ukraine were to join NATO, it could trigger World War Three. READ MORE BELOW

· A majority of the UN's General Assembly - 143 of 193 members - has condemned Russia's "attempted illegal annexation" of four partially occupied regions in Ukraine, calling on all countries not to recognize the move. Russia's top diplomat Sergei Lavrov said the ruling was "anti-Russian" and had been achieved using "diplomatic terror."

· President Vladimir Putin of Russia and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey will meet for talks in Kazakhstan on Thursday, where Turkey is likely to raise ideas for peace in Ukraine.

· The Kremlin has hit out at Western leaders for engaging in "provocative" nuclear rhetoric after a series of warnings from Russia, the U.S. and NATO on the dangers of the Ukraine conflict going nuclear.

· Three alleged Russian drone strikes hit critical infrastructure in the Kyiv region early on Thursday, with governor Oleksiy Kuleba suggesting were caused by Iranian-made loitering munitions, often known as "kamikaze drones."

· At least seven people were killed and eight injured in a Russian strike on a crowded market in the frontline town of Avdiivka, according to the governor of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region said.

· Kyiv needs about $55 billion to cover its estimated budget deficit, and rebuild critical infrastructure, including schools, housing and energy facilities, according to President Volodmyr Zelenskyy.

· Russia hit about 30 percent of Ukraine's energy infrastructure in its missile attacks on Monday and Tuesday, according to Ukraine's energy minister, but power had largely been restored across the country by Thursday. 

· The U.S. and its Western allies are discussing where to set the price for a capping mechanism meant to punish Moscow for its actions while keeping Russian crude on the global market. U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen said a Russian $60 oil price cap could be appropriate.

· Putin has blamed Europe for its energy crisis, saying its policies had starved the oil and gas industry of investment, adding that implementing price caps would make it worse, as EU states tried to find a deal on ways to contain soaring energy costs.

· Amid fears in Poland of a nuclear power plant accident in neighboring Ukraine, people are stocking up on iodine tablets - pills that help block the body's exposure to radioactivity - while Warsaw has set up distribution points for free iodine tablets throughout the country as a preparatory measure. 

IN DETAIL

Russian missiles hit more than 40 Ukrainian cities and towns on Thursday, Kyiv officials said, as NATO allies met in Brussels to unveil plans to strengthen Europe's air defenses after committing more military aid to Kyiv.

In the past 24 hours Russian missiles hit more than 40 settlements, while Ukraine's air force carried out 32 strikes on 25 Russian targets, Ukraine's Armed Forces General Staff said, with the southern port city of Mykolaiv coming under massive bombardment.

"It is known that a number of civilian objects were hit," regional governor Vitaly Kim said in a social media post.

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The new NATO pledge to bolster Kyiv's weapons reserves led Moscow to double down on its warnings that Western states were acting as though they were "a direct party to the conflict" and that by admitting Ukraine to Western military alliance, the alliance was risking World War Three.

"Kyiv is well aware that such a step would mean a guaranteed escalation to a World War Three," said deputy secretary of Russia's Security Council, Alexander Venediktov, as the U.S. vowed to defend "every inch" of allied territory.

NATO is not likely to quickly allow Ukraine to join the alliance as its membership during an ongoing war would put the U.S. and allies into direct conflict with Russia.

However, hours after Putin proclaimed partially occupied regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia as Russian land on September 30, Zelenskyy called for Kyiv to be fast-tracked to candidate status.

A senior NATO official said on Wednesday a Russian nuclear strike would almost certainly trigger a "physical response" from Ukraine's allies and potentially NATO, while the U.S. reaffirmed its commitment to its allies' defense.

"We are committed to defending every inch of NATO's territory - if and when it comes to that," U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in Brussels ahead of a meeting of NATO defense ministers.

Separately, 15 European NATO members announced plans for joint procurement of air defense systems, dubbed "European Sky Shield" to better protect their territory.