27 mins ago16:20Tim McNulty

2 hours ago14:23Tom Watling

Germany has announced a package of further military aid for Ukraine that includes tanks and air defence systems.

The package, worth some £597 million (700 million euros), includes 40 extra Marder armoured personnel carriers, another 25 old Leopard 1 tanks and two Patriot defence missile launching devices.

Germany is already one of the biggest providers of military aid to Ukraine but its new pledge will make it the second largest supplier ahead of the UK.

The German Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that Germany also would give Ukraine another 20,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, 5,000 rounds of smoke ammunition, a reconnaissance and drone-defence package and a Luna drone system. There will also be five armoured recovery vehicles.

German officials had promised a substantial new military aid pledge at the NATO summit in Vilnius but made clear their continued reluctance to agree to Ukraine‘s request for Taurus long-range cruise missiles.

3 hours ago14:12Tom Watling

France will deliver deep-strike missiles as part of increased efforts to help Ukraine‘s counteroffensive against Russian forces, French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday.

France has been weighing whether to send Scalp missiles to Ukraine. They are the French counterpart of Britain’s Storm Shadow missiles, which the U.K. already sent to Ukraine.

Mr Macron said upon arriving at the NATO summit in Vilnius, “We have decided to deliver new deep-strike missiles to Ukraine” as part of beefed-up military support.

The French leader did not specify which missiles, or say when or how many would be supplied.

Mr Macron said the decision was made “in view of the situation and the counteroffensive being led by Ukraine” against Russian forces. He said in May that the longer-range Scalp missiles could help the counteroffensive, which is in its early stages.

3 hours ago14:08Tom Watling

3 hours ago13:59Tom Watling

3 hours ago13:31Tom Watling

ALL 32 NATO leaders gathered at the summit on Tuesday afternoon (Image: TWITTER )

4 hours ago13:07Tom Watling

While it is believed the US and Germany remain hesitant about a fast-tracked NATO application for Ukraine, the UK is helping push a new security pact for Kyiv outside of the alliance.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the UK, US, France and Germany – dubbed The Quad – are looking to finalise a separate security deal to provide Kyiv with a multi-year plan to defend itself from Russian aggression.

It was reported that the deal would operate in a similar fashion to a military and financial pact that Washington has with Tel Aviv to afford it protection in the Middle East.

Mr Sunak said Britain had played a leading role in the discussions since he put the issue of multilateral Western security assurances on the table during his speech to the Munich security conference in February.

He told reporters he was “keen to try and get this over the line”.

“I think it is something that we in the UK have taken a lead on, it is something I’ve spoken a lot to fellow leaders about over the last few months,” he said. “Those conversations are ongoing so we need to keep having them, but that is the purpose of them.

“It is to demonstrate long-term commitment from a broad group of countries. It is distinct from the NATO conversation and I think it will send a very strong signal of deterrent to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, that he can’t wait people out, in terms of this conflict. I think it is important and valuable.”

4 hours ago13:02Tom Watling

Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas has said NATO “owe Ukraine” membership to the alliance after 16 months of fighting off Russian aggression.

As the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital gets underway, Ms Kallas said Ukraine’s accession to NATO was “ the safest, cheapest, and most credible way of deterring Russia”.

It comes as leaders of the members in attendance at the summit continue to discuss possible ways of affording Ukraine assurances in light of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion.

4 hours ago12:56Tom Watling

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has told the Daily Express that Ukraine’s “rightful place” is in NATO.

He said he wants NATO leaders to make “demonstrable progress” on allowing Kyiv to join the alliance, adding that a united alliance may convince Putin to reconsider the war in Ukraine.

5 hours ago12:01Tom Watling

NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg has praised the « strong leadership » of US President Joe Biden ahead of the alliance’s summit in Vilnius.

The pair posed together for a photo, which Mr Stoltenberg posted on Twitter.

5 hours ago11:48Tom Watling

A top Ukrainian official has criticised NATO for being “afraid of responsibility” in what appears to be a concerted effort by the country’s leading political figures to incite commitments from the alliance.

Mikhail Podolyak, the adviser to the head of Office of the President of Ukraine, issued a number of requests of NATO on Twitter just minutes after his boss, Volodymyr Zelensky, made a similar statement.

You can read the full statement below.

5 hours ago11:39Tom Watling

Volodymyr Zelensky has hit out at NATO for alleged discusssion over the potential application without them being present.

You can read his full statement below.