Nato allies meet in Germany as Berlin agrees to up deliveries to Ukraine

Germany announced it would deliver heavy weapons to Ukraine for the first time in a policy shift as western allies pledged to beef-up support for Kyiv at a gathering at the Ramstein US air force base in southern Germany.

Berlin said it had approved deliveries of Gepard anti-aircraft tanks to Kyiv from German arms company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), a break with previous policy after chancellor Olaf Scholz came under criticism from Ukraine and western allies for hesitancy in recent weeks.

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin called for military assistance to Ukraine to be stepped up further as delegates from more than 40 countries convened with Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg.

“Nations from around the world stand united in our resolve to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s imperial aggression,” Mr Austin told the meeting, which was convened by the US.

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“Ukraine clearly believes that it can win, and so does everyone here,” Mr Austin said, adding that the defence mounted by Kyiv “will go down in military history”.

The gathering came amid growing expectations that Finland will request to join Nato ahead of a major summit of the alliance in Madrid in June, potentially along with its neighbour Sweden, despite warnings of consequences from Russia.

Kyiv, which was initially widely expected to fall to greater Russian military numbers within days, has now held out for over two months and insists it can defeat the invasion if given adequate weapons by allies.

Since late February, Washington has supplied Ukraine with €3.2 billion in military equipment, according to a US official. Most European Union countries have also sent military aid including heavy artillery, anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, drones, rifles and ammunition, with some keeping the details of deliveries classified.

Washington this week described the goal of western engagement in Ukraine as to ensure that Kyiv can win the war and weaken Russia so it cannot invade a second time.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov described as an "illusion" the idea of anyone "wearing down the Russian army".

He told Russian state television that east-west tensions were worse now than during the Cuban missile crisis at the height of the cold war and warned that Moscow considers western arms shipments to Ukraine as legitimate targets for attack.

“Nato, in essence, is engaged in a war with Russia through a proxy and is arming that proxy. War means war,” he said.

Asked about the possibility of nuclear war, Mr Lavrov said: “The risks are very significant. I do not want the danger to be artificially inflated [but] it is serious, real. It cannot be underestimated.”

United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres, who met Mr Lavrov and Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday, said he was ready to fully mobilise the organisation's resources to save lives and evacuate people from the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

The Gerpard anti-aircraft tanks to be sent to Ukraine from Germany would need to be overhauled, according to KMW, and it is unclear when they will be available for delivery. In addition, KMW is reportedly ready to supply 100 self-propelled Howitzer missile systems which can hit targets within 40km. The Netherlands has already announced it will provide similar equipment to the Ukrainian army.

Another arms company, Rheinmetall, has said it can supply Kyiv with 88 used Leopard tanks, including training and ammunition. The tanks were built in the 1960s and used by the German Bundeswehr armed forces until 2003.

On Tuesday, Finnish foreign minister Pekka Haavisto said it would be "useful" for Finland and Sweden to apply for Nato membership together, but that no fixed date for a potential application had been set.

The invasion has galvanised support for joining the alliance in Finland, which has a 1,300km border with Russia, with 62 per cent in favour according to a recent poll. But Helsinki is anxious that it joins alongside Sweden, its more hesitant western neighbour.