The government has announced a further £450m of military support to Kyiv, as the UK and Germany hosted a meeting of 50 nations in Brussels.
Defence officials met to “pile pressure” on Russian President Vladimir Putin and force him to end his invasion of Ukraine, UK Defence Secretary John Healey said.
“We must step up to deter Russian aggression by continuing to bolster Ukraine’s defences,” he added.
The package includes funding for hundreds of thousands of drones, anti-tanks mines and and repairs to military vehicles.
About £350m will be provided by the UK, with extra funding from Norway via the UK-led International Fund for Ukraine.
The package includes £160m to provide repairs and maintenance to vehicles and equipment the UK has already provided to Ukraine.
A “close fight” military aid package, with funding for radar systems, anti-tank mines and hundreds of thousands of drones, worth more than £250m is also part of the package, the government said.
In January, the UK pledged £4.5bn in military aid to Ukraine – which Healey described as the highest contribution of aid to Ukraine this year. The £450m announced on Friday is part of that £4.5bn.
Speaking after a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG), Healey said Ukraine’s allies in total pledged €21bn (£18.2bn) in new military aid to the embattled nation – which he called a record boost in funding.
Credit: bbc