Lead:

A renewed Russian missile barrage struck Kyiv in the early hours of Monday, killing at least ten people and sending explosions reverberating across the Ukrainian capital on the eve of a NATO summit. The attack came as U.S. President Donald Trump separately signaled willingness to resume diplomatic efforts to end the war, having spoken with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in consecutive calls, raising cautious expectations ahead of a pivotal week in the conflict.

Details:

Al-Yaum reported that at least ten people were killed in Monday's Russian strikes on Kyiv, with AFP correspondents on the ground confirming they heard dozens of explosions across the city. A separate report from Al-Yaum cited Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration, who posted a warning about the missile attack as it unfolded, underscoring the sustained intensity of Russian aerial operations against the Ukrainian capital.

Al-Jazirah reported that President Trump expressed his country's readiness to resume efforts to end the war in Ukraine, following two separate phone calls with President Putin and President Zelensky. No further details on the substance of those conversations were immediately disclosed, but the timing — on the eve of a NATO summit — lent the diplomatic signal considerable strategic weight.

Al-Watan noted broader concerns about the growing military alignment between Beijing and Moscow, citing announcements from China's Ministry of Defense and Russian state media that Chinese and Russian naval forces were set to conduct joint exercises in waters and airspace off China's coast beginning Monday. Analysts and Western officials have flagged this deepening military cooperation as a direct challenge to American influence in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

The White House separately announced, according to Al-Yaum, that Trump would hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the NATO summit with both Zelensky and Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara in Ankara, further consolidating the summit as a focal point for multiple overlapping geopolitical files.

Watch For:

The outcome of Trump's bilateral meetings with Zelensky and al-Shara in Ankara will be closely scrutinized for any concrete commitments on weapons supplies, ceasefire frameworks, or diplomatic timelines.

The scope and findings of the NATO summit itself will determine whether allied unity on Ukraine support holds or shows fracture lines, particularly given Washington's mixed signals on continued military assistance.

The joint Chinese-Russian naval exercises, launched on the same day as the Kyiv strikes and the NATO summit, will be monitored for their scale and geographic reach, as Western defense establishments assess the strategic coordination between Moscow and Beijing.