KYIV, Ukraine — Russian missiles and artillery pounded cities across Ukraine early Thursday, sparking fires, killing at least three people and trapping others under the rubble of destroyed buildings, authorities said, as Poland said it would stop providing weapons to its ally amid a trade dispute.
The early-morning wave of missile strikes on what's known as the International Day of Peace was Russia's largest in over a month, and came as world leaders meet at United Nations General Assembly in New York. In a speech there, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced Russia as “a terrorist state.”
Zelenskyy was to meet Thursday with President Joe Biden and congressional leaders in Washington with an additional $24 billion aid package hanging in the balance.
Poland, which has been a major supporter of Ukraine, said it would stop transferring weapons to its neighbor as it works to modernize its own military, but denied the decision was linked to a simmering dispute over a temporary ban on Ukrainian grain imports.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the decision would not affect NATO and U.S. weapons transfers through Poland.
“We are no longer transferring any weapons to Ukraine because now we will arm ourselves with the most modern weapons,” he said in an interview on the private TV broadcaster Polsat News late Wednesday.
A dispute about whether Ukrainian grain should be allowed to enter…
