UKRAINE ruled out peace talks with Russia today, saying it is not prepared to negotiate until Moscow is defeated on the battlefield. 

Foreign Minister Dmitry Kubela said that this was the only sensible way forward for Kiev, as Western countries continue to flood Ukraine with weapons and military aid. 

On Monday the European Union committed another €500 million (£426m) funding to supply arms, taking the economic bloc’s total spending on military aid to €2.4 billion (£2bn) since February. 

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told a news conference that the conflict was likely to drag on, saying the bloc needed to show it was not giving up on Ukraine. 

“I’m sure [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is counting on the democratic fatigue … He believes that democracies are weak. Look, no. The European societies cannot afford fatigue,” he said. 

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis also called for the EU to maintain its support as governments head for summer recess. 

“Russian troops have no plans to take free days from further attacking Ukraine,” he said. 

Peace in Ukraine seems a distant dream, with minimal effort being made to get the warring parties together for talks that could end the conflict. 

Mr Kubela told the Forbes Ukraina magazine that now was not the right time for such discussions. 

“I tell all partners a simple thing: Russia should sit down at the negotiating table after defeat on the battlefield. Otherwise it will be the language of ultimatums again,” he said. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky does not rule out “the possibility of negotiations,” Mr Kubela said, but believes there is no reason for talks now.