Europe’s top defense leaders vowed ongoing support for Ukraine in case of a ceasefire deal with Russia, but stopped short of promising boots on the ground.

MOSCOW - Russia's air defense systems shot down 337 Ukrainian drones overnight, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced Tuesday on its Telegram channel. Those drones included 91 shot down over the Moscow region, 126 over Kursk, 38 over Bryansk, and 25 over Belgorod, the ministry said.

The defence ministers of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Poland met in Paris on Wednesday, promising concrete steps to boost European defence and provide security guarantees for Ukraine as Washington pursues rapprochement with Moscow.

Defence ministers from five major European NATO member states met on Wednesday in Paris to discuss military security guarantees for Ukraine, including the possible deployment of peacekeeping troops, in the event of a peace deal with Russia.