Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with a sophisticated combination of missiles and drones for the first time in 73 days on Wednesday, authorities reported, as the Pentagon said most of the North Korean troops sent to help Moscow’s war effort are fighting to drive Ukraine’s army off Russian soil in the Kursk border region.

By Pavel Polityuk and Tom Balmforth KYIV (Reuters) -Blasts boomed across Kyiv on Wednesday morning after officials said Russia launched its first missile attack on the Ukrainian capital since August,

U.S. and Polish officials have opened a new NATO missile defense base in northen Poland. Polish officials welcomed it as a significant boost to the security of the nation and the wider NATO region at a time of war in neighboring Ukraine.

"The Polish-American alliance is strong, regardless of who governs in Warsaw and Washington," Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said.

A long-planned US missile defence base was officially opened in northern Poland on Wednesday. The military base in Redzikowo is located about a hundred kilometres west of Gdansk and is part of NATO's missile defence system on the continent.