LATEST HEADLINES

• U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called on Kyiv's allies to "dig deep" to provide more arms supplies to Ukraine at a meeting of defense ministers from some 50 countries that give it military aid. He added that the conflict was a "marathon, not a sprint" and the assistance needed to be long-term. READ MORE BELOW

• Ukraine has reported "partial" success and incremental advances in its counteroffensive against Russian forces in the face of what it described as "extremely fierce" fighting. 

• Russia's secret service has detained a person in the southern Bryansk region who it said had been gathering data on security forces in areas bordering Ukraine, Russian state news agency TASS reported. 

• A child was killed by Ukrainian shelling in the Russian-held area of Ukraine's Kherson region, according to Russian-installed authorities.

• The UN's nuclear chief has started a visit to the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine after delaying the trip for security reasons amid heavy fighting in southern Ukraine.

• Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said one of his senior commanders was alive and well, mocking Ukrainian reports that the Caucasian region's second most senior official Adam Delimkhanov had been killed or wounded in Ukraine as "brazen lies."

• Russian missiles hit two industrial facilities in the central Ukrainian city Kryvyi Rih, the city's mayor reported, just days after an another attack on the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksyy left at least eleven dead and dozens wounded.

• NATO members are trying to finalize a plan to provide long-term support to Ukraine ahead of a key summit next month, but are struggling with how best to assure the country's security until it joins the military alliance, U.S. and European officials said.

• The alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on Thursday that "the support NATO allies have been giving Ukraine now for many, many months actually makes a difference on the battlefield." 

• Sweden should not expect a green light from Ankara on its NATO membership bid unless it stops anti-Turkey protests from taking place in Stockholm, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying.

• Australia says it will introduce legislation to cancel Russia's lease to build a new embassy in the national capital of Canberra. "To be clear, today's decision is one taken in the national security interests of Australia," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

IN DETAIL

U.S. urges Kyiv's allies to 'dig deep' for Ukraine 

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called on Kyiv's allies on Thursday to "dig deep" to provide more arms and ammunition to fight Russia's attack on Ukraine, particularly for air defenses.

Addressing a meeting of defense ministers from the U.S.-led Contact Group of some 50 countries that send weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, Austin stressed Kyiv needed both short-term and long-term support as the conflict was a "marathon, not a sprint."

At the meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Austin hailed the group's prior deliveries of Patriot, IRIS-T and NASAMS air defense systems as having protected Ukraine from Russian missile attacks. But he said Ukraine needed even more.

"I ask that the members of this Contact Group continue to dig deep to provide Ukraine with the air defense assets and munitions that it so urgently needs to protect its citizens," Austin said. "We'll also continue to adapt our assistance to meet the changing circumstances on the ground in the changing needs of Ukraine's forces."

It was the 13th meeting of the contact group, which Washington set up last year to coordinate western aid for Kyiv.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov attended the meeting and was expected to brief his counterparts on Ukraine's counteroffensive to retake more territory from Russian forces. The campaign is expected to use hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles supplied by the West.

Later in the day, NATO defense ministers will meet separately with Reznikov to discuss their support for Kyiv.

The meeting comes as NATO members are engaged in intense discussions over Ukraine's desire to join the alliance and long-term plans to assure the country's security after the conflict ends.

The NATO ministers will also meet with defense industry bosses to urge them to ramp up production capacity so NATO allies can provide more munitions to Ukraine and replenish their own stocks, severely depleted by donations to Kyiv.

Subscribe to Storyboard: A weekly newsletter bringing you the best of CGTN every Friday