KYIV/BRUSSELS—Russian missiles have pounded more than 40 Ukrainian cities and towns over the past 24 hours, as NATO allies meeting in Brussels unveiled plans on Thursday to jointly beef up Europe’s air defences with Patriot and other missile systems.
“We are living in threatening, dangerous times,” said German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht at a signing ceremony where Germany and more than a dozen of European NATO members committed to jointly procuring weapons for a “European Sky Shield” to better protect their territory.
Moscow renewed warnings that more military aid for Kyiv agreed earlier this week at the NATO meeting made members of the U.S.–led military alliance “a direct party to the conflict,” and said admitting Ukraine to the alliance would trigger a World War….