Putin’s civilian hit as NATO meets

Joe Biden was right on Sunday when he described Vladimir Putin’s resumption of cruise missile strikes on Kyiv as “an example of Russia’s barbarism”. That the Kremlin’s strikes, which included targeting an eight-storey apartment block crowded with civilians and an adjacent kindergarten, were timed to coincide with the start of the G7 summit in Bavaria seems certain. The Russian despot’s savagery demands a forceful response not just from the G7, in terms of intensified sanctions, but also from the 54 nations at the NATO summit that begins in Madrid on Wednesday. Anthony Albanese will be among the attendees.

How the Kremlin can justify a cruise missile strike against a crowded apartment block and kindergarten on a Sunday morning beggars understanding. Most Russians everywhere will be appalled. But the attack, as Mr Biden said, is symptomatic of the attack Mr Putin has unleashed against democratic Ukraine. It should add to the determination of G7 and NATO to double down on economic and military pressure against Mr Putin. The cruise missiles – fired from Russian bombers flying over the Caspian Sea – rained down on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities just hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed his plea to Ukraine’s democratic allies across the democratic world for the supply of air defence systems. The war was at a “morally and emotionally difficult stage”, he said. G7 and NATO leaders must respond. After weeks in which Mr Putin concentrated his assault on the Donbas region, he has again focused on major civilian centres. No less provocative was the Russian leader’s announcement that he was sending nuclear-capable Iskander-M missile systems to bases in close ally Belarus. He is also upgrading Belarusian warplanes to enable them to carry and deploy nuclear weapons.

Just more than four months into the war, Mr Putin is unchastened. Despite battlefield setbacks, he is persisting with his onslaught. The G7 and NATO must ensure Mr Zelensky gets the weapons and resources he needs. Countries such as the Baltic States, which increasingly are coming under direct threat of attack by Moscow, also must be provided with the means to defend themselves against any Russian aggression.