Sirens of Russian air strikes blared across Ukraine on Friday, while France said fighter jets claimed by Kyiv could not be delivered soon, during a European tour by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ukrainian officials have warned of possible Russian missile strikes and urged residents to take cover.
"There is a great threat of missile attacks," said the head of the military administration for the city of Kyiv, Serhiy Popko.
On the other hand, French President Emmanuel Macron said yesterday evening, Thursday, that the fighters that Kyiv wants cannot be delivered in the coming weeks "under any circumstances," stressing that he prefers "more useful" weapons that can be delivered faster.
Macron indicated that the Caesar cannons and the medium-range air defense system provided by France meet these criteria.
For its part, Britain announced that it is aware of the potential escalation risks of providing Ukraine with more Western weapons, at a time when it played down the possibility of Kyiv handing over old "Typhoon" fighters.
These comments came in the wake of Zelensky's visit to the capital, London - the day before yesterday, Wednesday - before moving to Paris and Brussels on Thursday to attend a summit of European Union leaders, urging allies to provide his country with combat aircraft for use against Russian forces.
Britain said it would start training Ukrainian pilots and would consider sending planes in the long term, despite the United States and other NATO allies worrying about getting further involved in the war.
Zelensky continued his campaign for the creation of a tribunal to hold Russia accountable for its war in Ukraine, called for support for his peace plan, and urged the European Union to impose more sanctions on Russia.
Safe area in Zaporizhia
In the same context, Russia and the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Thursday that they hoped to make progress in establishing a safe zone around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which has been bombed repeatedly over the past months.
The head of the State Nuclear Energy Corporation, Alexei Likhachev, and Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, made the statement after their meeting in Moscow.
The IAEA wants to create a safe area around the station to prevent further damage from bombing and the use of heavy weapons.
Zaporizhia, the largest of its kind in Europe, was captured by Russian forces shortly after Moscow's war with Ukraine last year.
The station fell under the brunt of repeated bombing, and both Moscow and Kiev blame each other, exchanging accusations of raising the risk of a nuclear catastrophe.
"Maybe the result of these very important talks today will give us an opportunity to move a step closer to creating a safe zone around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant," Likhachev said after the meeting, standing next to Grossi.
Grossi, who is expected to continue talks with Russian officials on Friday, reiterated his concerns about the plant's safety, saying the situation was fragile and very dangerous.