About 20 nations agree to send fresh military aid to Ukraine, US says

US troop presence in Europe has risen to 102,000 from 78,000, Pentagon's top officer says

Service members of pro-Russian troops drive a tank past a destroyed residential building in the town of Popasna in the Luhansk region, Ukraine. Reuters

Smoke and dirt rise from the city of Severodonetsk during shelling in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. AFP

Russian soldiers Alexander Alexeevich Ivanov and Alexander Vladimirovich Bobykin, left, attend their trial hearing in Kotelva, northeastern Ukraine. AP Photo

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, meets with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP

A man drives a GAZ-21 Volga car past a damaged building in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, on the 92nd day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP

Public transit workers sweep up shrapnel in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Getty Images

Pro-Russian troops inspect an AT4 anti-tank launcher outside the town of Svitlodarsk in the Donetsk region, Ukraine. Reuters

People inspect destroyed Russian tanks and armoured vehicles in Irpin, Ukraine. Getty Images

A local resident pets a cat next to a destroyed house in Vilkhivka village, near Kharkiv, Ukraine. AFP

The remains of a school in Vilkhivka village, near Kharkiv. AFP

Widow and daughter of Andriy Vertiev, a Ukrainian serviceman, killed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, attend his funeral at Lychakiv cemetery, Lviv, Ukraine. AFP

Russian serviceman Vadim Shishimarin, centre, leaves a court hearing in Kyiv. EPA

Kateryna Shelikhova, widow of Oleksandr Shelipov, 62, who was shot dead by a Russian soldier. Reuters

A child plays against a backdrop of buildings ruined by shelling in Borodyanka, Ukraine. AP

A Ukrainian woman in the basement of a building used as bomb shelter in Soledar, Donetsk region. AP

Residents live in a subway station used as temporary shelter in Kharkiv. AP

Men with salvageable material from damaged buildings after Russian bombing in Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine. AP

A cuddly toy adorns a destroyed Russian battle tank near damaged homes in Hostomel, Ukraine. Getty Images

A mortar explodes next to a road leading to the city of Lysychansk, in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. AFP

A Ukrainian army vehicle moves towards the front line at a checkpoint near Lysychansk. AFP

A boy looks at flags honouring soldiers killed while fighting Russian troops, in Kyiv city centre. AP

A mannequin with a fake gun is placed as bait on a roadside in the Nord Saltivka district of Kharkiv. EPA

A man looks at a destroyed Russian tank placed as a symbol of war, in central Kyiv. AP

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on a screen at the opening ceremony for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Reuters

Smoke billows from an oil refinery after an attack outside the city of Lysychansk, in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. AFP

A woman walks by a destroyed apartment building in Bakhmut, Donbas region. AFP

An elderly woman stands inside her heavily damaged house after it was hit by a missile in Bakhmut. AFP

A mother with her daughter sit inside a bus as they leave Bakhmut. AFP

A Ukrainian soldier prepares coffee as he takes a break near an artillery position in the breakaway enclave of Donetsk, in the Donbas region. Reuters

A Ukrainian soldier exercises near Donetsk. Reuters

A woman displaced by incessant Russian shelling leaves a metro station where people had been living underground for months in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Getty

A heavily damaged home spa near Ruski Tyshky village in Ukraine. Getty

The wreckage of a Ukrainian military helicopter is transported in Kharkiv. Getty

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Polish President Andrzej Duda in Kyiv. EPA

Two Ukrainian national guard soldiers pay their respects at a cemetery in Kharkiv. AP

A man pushes a wheelbarrow past a heavily damaged apartment building near Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol. Reuters

The burnt out shells of cars in a residential area near Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol. Reuters

Pro-Russian troops drive a tank in Ukraine's Donetsk region. Reuters

A Russian soldier takes a break during an operation to demine the territory of Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Reuters

Relatives and friends attend the funeral of a Ukrainian soldier killed in action, in the Odessa region city of Rozdilna. EPA

Ukrainians wearing traditional clothing listen to their national anthem as they take part in the celebration of 'Vyshyvanka Day', an annual celebration of Ukrainian folk traditions, in Athens. AFP

About 20 nations have pledged to send additional military aid to Ukraine, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin announced on Monday after a meeting of dozens of allied countries.

Mr Austin led the online “contact group” meeting attended by 47 countries, following an in-person event he hosted last month at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

“Everyone here understands the stakes of this war. And they stretch far beyond Europe,” Mr Austin said, noting that “some 20 countries announced new security assistance packages”.

He credited Denmark for agreeing to provide Harpoon anti-ship missile systems and the Czech Republic for a recent donation of helicopters, tanks and rocket systems.

Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, Ireland and Kosovo are new to the group. Mr Austin also mentioned Italy, Norway, Poland and Greece among those sending “critically needed artillery systems and ammunition” to Ukraine.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited Washington last week.

“Our combined efforts will also fortify and modernise Ukraine's armed forces to help them deter future Russian aggression,” Mr Austin said.

The group will host its third meeting on the margins of the Nato defence ministerial in Europe in mid-June.

Speaking alongside Mr Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Mark Milley described an increase in US military readiness in Europe. He said the number of American troops across the continent has increased from 78,000 in the autumn to 102,000.

He said more than 15,000 sailors are in the Mediterranean and in the Baltic on 24 warships and four submarines, an increase from six warships late last year.

“The Ukrainian military's capacity to defend their homeland against Russian attack is directly tied to the quality and quantity of the assistance they're receiving,” Gen Milley said.

But he stressed that no US trainers or forces are inside Ukraine and the reintroduction of those troops anytime in future would require a presidential decision.

He also welcomed the reopening of military-to-military communications with Russia.

Gen Milley spoke with his Russian counterpart Valery Gerasimov last week, right after Mr Austin and Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu talked for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.

“I don't share the contents and detail of that discussion, but that it was done is important and it was personal and worthwhile,” Gen Milley said.