In a show of solidarity with Ukraine, European countries have pledged billions of dollars in additional funding to support the country’s defense against Russia’s ongoing invasion, which has surpassed three years.
These nations, including the United Kingdom and Germany, in collaboration with the country members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), made this promise during a meeting of Ukraine’s Western Backers.
After the meeting held at NATO’s headquarters, Brussels, British Defense Secretary John Healey said that new pledges of military aid totaled over 21 billion euros ($24 billion), “a record boost in military funding for Ukraine, and we are also surging that support to the frontline fight.”
Healey gave no breakdown of that figure, and Ukraine has in the past complained that some countries repeat old offers at such pledging conferences or fail to deliver real arms and ammunition worth the money they promise.
The Defense Secretary added 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.
In a show of solidarity, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that his country would provide Ukraine with four IRIS-T short- to medium-range systems with missiles, as well as 30 missiles for use on Patriot batteries. The Netherlands plans to supply a Hawkeye air defense system, an airborne early warning aircraft.
Building on Germany’s pledge, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said that his country is monitoring the world armaments market and sees opportunities for Ukraine’s backers to buy more weapons and ammunition.
Pevkur said he believes Putin might try to reach some kind of settlement with Ukraine by May 9, the day that Russia marks victory during World War II, making it even more vital to strengthen Kyiv’s position now.
“This is why we need to speed up the deliveries as quickly as we can,” he said.
Standing alongside Healey at the end of it, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov described the meeting as “productive, effective, and efficient,” and said that it produced “one of the largest” packages of assistance Ukraine has received. “We’re thankful to each nation that has provided this support,” he said.
