Brussels (AP) – European countries promised on Friday to send billions of dollars to additional funding to help Ukraine continue to fight Invasion of RussiaWhile an American envoy continued peace efforts on a trip to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in the midst of growing questions on the Kremlin’s desire to stop the war of more than three years.
After having presided over a meeting of Ukraine Western donors in Brussels in Brussels, British Defense Secretary, John Healey, said that new promises of military aid totaled more than 21 billion euros (24 billion dollars), “a record boost for military financing for Ukraine, and we also make support for the first line combat”.
Healey has not given any ventilation of this figure, and Ukraine complained in the past that certain countries repeat the old offers during such promise conferences or fail to deliver real weapons and ammunition which are worth the money they promise.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said last week that Ukraine supporters had provided around $ 21 billion so far in the first three months of this year. The head of the European Union foreign policy Kaja Kallas said on Friday that more than $ 26 billion had been committed.
In Moscow, meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that US president Donald Trump Steve Witkoff was in Russia and would meet Putin in Saint Petersburg. Witkoff, who pressed the Kremlin to accept a truce, initially met the envoy of Putin Kirill Dmitriev, images published by the Russian media.
Before the meeting of the “contact group” at the NATO headquarters, the Ukrainian Minister of Defense, Rustem Umerov, said that a key question was to strengthen the air defenses of his country.
Besides Healey at the end of it, Umerov described Reunion as “productive, efficient and efficient” and said that it had produced “one of the greatest” assistance packages that Ukraine had received. “We are grateful to each nation that has provided this support,” he said.
Great Britain said that in a joint effort with Norway, just over $ 580 million would be spent to provide hundreds of thousands of military drones, radar systems and anti-tank mines, as well as repair and maintenance contracts to keep Ukrainian armored vehicles on the battlefield.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has renewed his calls to find out more Patriotic systems Since 20 people have been killed a week ago, including nine children, When a Russian missile torn apart the apartment buildings and castigated a playground in his hometown.
Zelenskyy joined Friday’s meeting by Video Link.
Russia accepts a ceasefire
The Russian forces have the advantage in Ukraine, with the war now in its fourth year. Ukraine has approved a United States List proposalBut Russia has effectively blocked it by imposing large -scale conditions.
The Russian delay in accepting Washington’s proposal has frustrated Utrump and fueled doubts as to whether Russian President Vladimir Putin really wants to stop fighting while his biggest army has a momentum on the battlefield.
“Russia continues to use bilateral talks with the United States to delay negotiations on the war in Ukraine, suggesting that the Kremlin is not interested in serious peace negotiations to end the war,” said the Institute for the Study of War on Thursday, in a Washington reflection group, in an assessment.
Washington remains determined to conclude a peace agreement, even if four weeks have passed since she made her ceasefire proposals, said the spokesperson for the State Department, Tammy Bruce.
“It is a dynamic that will not be resolved militarily. It is a meat crusher,” said Bruce on Thursday about the war, adding that “nothing else can be discussed … until filming and murder stops.”
Observers expect a new Russian offensive
Ukrainian officials and military analysts think that Russia is preparing to launch a new military offensive in the coming weeks to increase the pressure and strengthen the hand of the Kremlin in negotiations.
The German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that his country would offer Ukraine four Iris-T medium to medium beach systems with missiles, as well as 30 missiles for use on patriotic batteries. The Netherlands are planning to provide a Hawkeye air defense system, an aerial early aircraft aircraft.
The Estonian Minister of Defense, Hanno Pevkur, said that his country was monitoring the world armament market and sees opportunities for Ukraine donors to buy more weapons and ammunition.
Pevkur said he thought Putin could try to reach a kind of regulation with Ukraine on May 9 – the day Russia marks victory during the Second World War – which makes Kyiv’s position even more vital now.
“This is why we have to speed up deliveries as quickly as possible,” he said.
Defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, was absent from the forum created by the United States and led for several years, although he spoke by video.
At Last contact group meeting In February, Hegseth warned European donors in Ukraine that the United States now has priorities elsewhere – in Asia and on American borders – and that they should take care of their own security and that of Ukraine in the future.
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The writer Associated Press Lolita Baldor in Washington contributed to this report.
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Follow the coverage of war by the AP in Ukraine in https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
