US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced major new military aid worth more than $US2 billion ($A2.97 billion) for Ukraine and other European countries threatened by Russia.
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Blinken said the Biden administration would provide $US2 billion in long-term military assistance to Ukraine and 18 of its neighbours, including NATO members and regional security partners "most potentially at risk for future Russian aggression."
That's on top of a $US675-million ($A1 billion) package of heavy weaponry, ammunition and armoured vehicles for Ukraine alone that Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin announced earlier on Thursday at a conference in Germany.
The contributions bring total US aid to Ukraine to $US15.2 billion since the administration took office. Officials said the new commitments were intended to show that American support for the country in the face of Russia's invasion is unwavering.
The announcements came as fighting between Ukraine and Russia has intensified in recent days, with Ukrainian forces mounting a counter-offensive to retake Russian-held areas in the south and east.
And, it came a day after shelling continued near Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, with the warring sides trading blame again amid dire warnings from the UN atomic watchdog for the creation of a safe zone to prevent a catastrophe.
Also Wednesday, the US accused Moscow of interrogating, detaining and forcibly deporting hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians to Russia. Russian officials immediately rejected the claim as "fantasy."
Austin said at the start of a meeting on Thursday with senior officials from allied countries at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany that Biden approved the latest tranche of US assistance on Wednesday.
He said that the package includes howitzers, artillery munitions, Humvees, armoured ambulances, anti-tank systems and more.
Austin gathered officials from allied countries to renew their commitment to military support for Ukraine "for the long haul."
He said that "the war is at another key moment," with Ukrainian forces beginning their counter-offensive in the south of the country.
He said that "now we're seeing the demonstrable success of our common efforts on the battlefield."
"The face of the war is changing and so is the mission of this contact group," Austin told the meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, which was attended by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and Ukraine's defence minister as well as officials from allied countries.
"We will work together to train Ukraine's forces for the long haul. We will work together to help integrate Ukraine's capabilities and bolster its joint operations for the long haul," he said.
"We will work together to upgrade our defence industrial basis to meet Ukraine's requirements for the long haul, and we will work together for production and innovation to meet Ukraine's self-defence needs for the long haul."
"We must evolve as the fight evolves," Austin said.
Australian Associated Press
