‘Dig deeper’ to support Ukraine, US asks allies

The US announced $2.5bn in military aid for Ukraine, which will include more armoured vehicles and ammunition

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, GERMANY: US defence secretary Lloyd Austin urged allies on Friday to dig deeper to support Ukraine at the meeting of dozens of defence ministers at an air base in Germany, as pressure piled up on Berlin to provide tanks to Kyiv.

Nato and defence leaders from roughly 50 countries met at Ramstein Air Base, the latest in a series of arms-pledging conferences since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly 11 months ago. “Russia is regrouping, recruiting, and trying to re-equip,” Austin said at the start of the meeting.

“This is not a moment to slow down. It’s a time to dig deeper. The Ukrainian people are watching us,” he said without making specific reference to tanks.

The United States announced an additional $2.5 billion in military aid for Ukraine on Thursday, a package which will include more armoured vehicles and ammunition.

Ukraine president pleads for tanks to ‘stop evil’

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday urged Western allies to deliver tanks to Ukraine at a key defence conference in Germany, although the Kremlin denied the weapons would change anything on the battlefield.

Addressing the US-hosted donor meeting at the Ramstein Air Base, Zelensky implored Western allies to “speed up” arms deliveries in the face of the

Russian onslaught.

Partners needed “not to bargain about different numbers of tanks but to open that principal supply that will stop evil”, the Ukrainian leader said.

The Kremlin responded by accusing the West of harbouring a “dramatic delusion” that Ukraine can win on the battlefield, adding that the conflict was “developing in an upward spiral”. Zelensky warned that time was pressing, saying the “war started by Russia does not allow delays”.

Meanwhile, German defence minister Boris Pistorius on Friday

denied Berlin was unilaterally blocking the shipment of Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine but said the government was ready to move quickly on sending them if there was consensus among allies.

Also, Russia claimed on Friday to have captured a village in eastern Ukraine as part of its intense, months-long push towards the city of Bakhmut.

Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the village of Klishchiivka, which is located nine kilometres south of Bakhmut, had been “liberated”.

French prez proposes $448bn def spending

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday proposed to boost defence spending by more than a third through 2030 and to “transform” France’s nucleararmed military, to better face evolving threats and take into account the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Macron announced a proposal for 413 billion euros ($448 billion) in military spending for the period of 2024-30, to ensure “our freedom, our security, our prosperity, our place in the world”.

That compares with spending of about 295 billion euros ($320 billion) in a similar military plan for 2019-25.

REUTERS Ukrainian servicemen ride atop a tank near the frontline town of Bakhmut, in Donetsk region, Ukraine on Friday.