Ukraine-Russia live: UK accused of ‘helping Moscow pay for war’

On Wednesday, the US Senate approved a £76bn foreign aid packaged that included military support for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

It included £49bn in military aid for Ukraine, which the Pentagon says can start being delivered to the war-torn nation within days. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the legislation into law on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the UK also pledged £500m in new military supplies for Ukraine, including long-range missiles and four million rounds of ammunition.

At least seven Russian officers have been killed in a missile strike near occupied Mariupol, a Ukrainian official has claimed.

Petro Andryushchenko, an aide to Mariupol’s exiled Ukrainian mayor, said at least six missiles struck a camp being used by the Russian military in Babakh-Tarama, in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.

The attack caused at least seven fatalities, while more than ten other people were injured.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed to closer defence cooperation on Wednesday, with both leaders saying Europe must unite to support Ukraine against Russia for as long as it takes.

The British leader hailed closer ties with Germany a day after announcing he would raise defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP a year by 2030 in what he said was a challenge to other European countries to follow suit.

The two announced plans to develop Remote-Controlled Howitzer 155mm Wheeled Artillery Systems (RCH 155) and discuss collaboration on energy projects, including German energy investment, according to the British government.