EUROPEAN countries vowed yesterday to funnel billions of dollars into further military aid for Ukraine.

After chairing a meeting of Ukraine’s Western backers in Brussels, British Defence Secretary John Healey announced new pledges of military aid totalling more than €21 billion (£18.2bn). He said it represented “a record boost in military funding for Ukraine and we are also surging that support to the front-line fight.” He gave no breakdown of that figure.

Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte said last week that Ukraine’s backers had provided around $21bn (£16bn) in the first three months of this year. Yesterday, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said more than $26bn (£19.8bn) had been committed.