West urged to step up arms deliveries to Ukraine as Nato defence ministers meet

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin, left, shakes hands with Ukraine’s defence minister Oleksii Reznikov (Yves Herman, pool photo via AP)

The West must step up weapons deliveries to Ukraine and prove its commitment to helping the country’s military fight along a 620-mile front line in a grinding war of attrition with Russia, US defence secretary Lloyd Austin has said.

Opening a meeting in Brussels on supporting Ukraine, Mr Austin urged more than 45 participating nations to demonstrate “our unwavering determination to get Ukraine the capabilities that it urgently needs to defend itself”.