NATO chief urges Western allies to 'ramp up' arms production to support Ukraine trends now

The head of NATO has warned Western allies to 'ramp up' arms production in the coming months to continue supporting Ukraine, as Russia continues its bomb attacks.

Jens Stoltenberg said the war between Ukraine and Russia is using an 'enormous amount' of munitions, with signs suggesting President Vladimir Putin is digging in for the 'long haul'.

Mr Stolenberg said the NATO allies need to help supply the government in Kyiv with the armaments they need but also need to maintain their own stockpiles of weapons.

He told BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend: 'For the artillery, we need an enormous amount of ammunition, we need spare parts, we need maintenance.

'This is a huge undertaking. We need to ramp up production, and that is exactly what the Nato allies are doing.

'It is a core responsibility for Nato to ensure that we have the stocks, the supplies, the weapons in place to ensure our own deterrence and defence, but also to be able to continue to provide support to Ukraine for the long haul.'

The call comes as Russia continues to bomb civilian areas of Ukraine, with little signs of abating.

Further missile strikes were seen over the New Year's weekend on the capital of Kyiv and in the eastern city of Kherson.

The intense missile and drone attacks made celebrations impossible in some areas.

Ukraine's Air Force command said that they had destroyed 45 Iranian-made Shahed drones overnight and Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said there were no casualties - though attacks on Saturday killed at least one person in the capital.

Andriy Nebytov, chief of Kyiv's police, posted a photo on the Telegram messaging app allegedly showing a piece of one kamikaze drone on which a Russian soldier had emblazoned the words 'Happy New Year'.

'These wreckage are not at the front, where fierce battles are taking place, they are here, on a sports grounds, where children play,' Nebytov said. 

An 11pm curfew was in place in the capital, preventing citizens from celebrating on the main square overnight.

But for hours leading up to the curfew hundreds of residents packed the streets, waving Ukrainian flags and wishing one another well as they snapped selfies in front of a large Christmas tree in Sofia Square lit up in blue and yellow.