The Ukrainian allies engage at 21 billion euros in fresh military support in Kyiv

The European allies of Ukraine promised 21 billion euros (24 billion dollars; 18 billion pounds sterling) in a new tranche of military support in kyiv in what they described as “a critical year” for the war.

More than half of this – 11 billion euros in aid over four years – comes from Germany. British Defense Minister John Healey said the promises would send a strong signal to Moscow.

The announcement was made while the members of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group met at NATO headquarters in Brussels to start air defenses, missiles and other equipment while Europe sought to fill the gap left by the modified priorities of the United States under Donald Trump.

European defense ministers said they saw no sign of the war, despite Trump’s promise of a ceasefire.

The support announced on Friday also includes a package of 450 million pounds sterling ($ 590 million) from the United Kingdom and Norway to finance radar systems, anti-tank mines, vehicle repairs and hundreds of thousands of drones for Ukraine. The money is part of a British commitment of 4.5 billion pounds sterling made earlier this year.

Air defense was a priority in Brussels. Healey said the Russian forces had lost 10,000 sliding bombs on Ukraine in the first three months of this year, as well as the launch of one -way -in -one drones per day.

“In our calculations, 70% to 80% of the victims of the battlefield are now caused and imposed by drones,” British Secretary for Defense said.

The German aid package is focused on artillery.

Boris Pistorius said Germany would send 100,000 artillery ammunition cartridges, 25 infantry combat vehicles, 15 battle tanks, 100 ground surveillance radars and 120 portable air defense systems.

Berlin will also send four IRIS-T air defense systems with 300 missiles in Kyiv.

“Ukraine needs a strong soldier and it is only then that the negotiation process can lead to just and lasting peace,” said German Defense Minister in Brussels.

The defense ministers of 50 nations met in Brussels for the 27th UDCG rally.

The American Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, joined the Reunion at a distance, telling the allies that America appreciated their work.

Pistorius said that HegSeth’s decision was a question of “schedules” rather than “priorities”, and that the “most important fact was that he participated”.

Other leaders have also joined remotely, notably the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

Kyiv Minister of Defense, Rustem Umerov, who was in Brussels, thanked Europe for having “taken the lead of security” for his country.

He also said that Hegseth’s attendance “means that the United States continues to help security and that we are next to us.”

Healey, Pistorius and Umerov have all accused Russia of dragging his feet on a cease-fire.

Healey said it had been more than a month since Russia rejected a peace of peace supported by the United States. Pistorius said Russia was still not interested in peace.

Discussions in Europe took place while the American special envoy Steve Witkoff went to Russia, once again, to press the Kremlin to accept a truce.

Friday, Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg While Donald Trump urged the Russian president to “move” on a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Earlier, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin and Witkoff would discuss the Ukraine war, but “breakthroughs” should be expected.

On the ground in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday that its forces had captured the village of Zhuravka, in the northern border region of Sumy, northern Sumy.

Ukrainian officials should not confirm this.

Earlier this week, President Zelensky said that 67,000 Russian soldiers were positioned north of the border in the Sumy region, in preparation for an attack on the city of Sumy.