An Aster 30 B1NT missile was fired successfully for the first time, as Paris and Rome try to lure European capitals away from Washington and Berlin.

Russia said Thursday its missiles had struck two launchers of a US-made Patriot air defense system in Ukraine, with Kyiv admitting the weapon was hit, but saying it was lightly damaged and still in operation.

Russia appears to have damaged part of a Ukrainian Patriot air-defense system deployed in central Ukraine using ballistic missiles, although Kyiv's air force insisted that the expensive battery is still operational.