On Tuesday, Ukraine again requested allies send fighter jets to help them gain the upper hand in the nearly year-long war with Russia that has ravaged the country. But no one would make any promises to send combat aircraft as the defense meeting in Brussels went on.
“I don’t have any announcements on aircraft to make today,” U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters. 54 countries were represented at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.
Aircraft aside, allies of Ukraine have promised more weapons, ammunition, and tanks.
“This isn’t about one single capability. It’s about delivering all the capabilities that we promised. It’s about integrating these systems together,” Austin continued.
The war in Ukraine is entering its second year at the end of the month.
Ukraine’s resistance and Western aid have frustrated Russia’s ambitions of holding the Donbas region. While Ukraine’s pushback has held Russian back to a degree, some of Kyiv’s forces could still be overwhelmed by the Russian numbers stacked against them.
It has been reported that Russian shelling killed at least three civilians and wounded another eight over the last 24 hours.
Russian forces recently shelled 17 towns and villages in the region of Donetsk.