BRUSSELS: British defence minister John Healey said that pledges from Britain and allies totalling $35 billion of military aid for Ukraine had been made on Thursday.
The pledges were made at a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, which is comprised of 50 nations, co-chaired by Britain and Germany.
“We can save lives, we can pressure Putin and we can agree peace, but only if we step up together,” Healey said at a press conference.
Speaking after a meeting of defence ministers in Brussels, John Healey said Ukraine’s allies were “more united and more determined than ever”.
He said: “We will step up military assistance to Ukraine. We will step up pressure on Russia.
“And we want to make 2026 the year this war ends, the year we secure peace.”
Praising the “courage and defiance” of the Ukrainian people, Healey added that Russia had been fighting in Ukraine for longer than the Soviet Union fought Germany during the Second World War.
Standing alongside Healey, his German counterpart Boris Pistorius announced Berlin would donate five of its 12 Pac-3 interceptor missiles if other nations agreed to donate 30.
