AP Kyiv

Russia unleashed one of its largest aerial assaults on Ukraine in recent months, only hours before the UK and Germany are to chair a meeting to discuss US President Donald Trump's plans for NATO allies to provide Ukraine with weapons.

The attack killed two people and wounded 15, including a 12-year-old, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The drone and missile assault on Kyiv overnight into Monday underscored the urgency of Ukraine's need for further Western military aid, especially in air defence, a week after Trump said deliveries would arrive in Ukraine within days.

The virtual meeting will be led by British Defense Secretary John Healey and his German counterpart Boris Pistorius. Healey said US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and NATO leader Mark Rutte, as well as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Gen Alexus Grynkewich, will attend the meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group. Moscow has intensified its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities, and analysts say the barrages are likely to escalate as Russian drone production expands.

In an shift of tone toward Russia, the US president last week gave Moscow a 50-day deadline to agree to a ceasefire or face tougher sanctions. At Monday's meeting, British defence chief John Healey was expected to urge Ukraine's Western partners to launch a coincidental "50-day drive" to get Kyiv the weapons it needs to fight Russia's bigger army and force Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, the UK government said in a statement.

Trump's arms plan, announced a week ago, involves European nations sending American weapons to Ukraine via NATO - either from existing stockpiles or buying and donating new ones. The US president indicated discussions were partly focused on advanced Patriot air defence systems and said a week ago that deliveries would begin "within days". But last week various senior officials suggested no transfers had yet taken place. NATO's Grynkewich told The Associated Press on Thursday that "preparations are underway" for weapons transfers to Ukraine.