NATO chief announces new pledges of support for Ukraine from allies

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has said he heard "a lot of encouraging comments" from allies on support for Ukraine during a ministerial meeting of Alliance countries.

Ahead of the meeting of NATO foreign ministers, Rutte expressed dissatisfaction that only six or seven European countries are doing the bulk of the work on purchasing US weapons for Ukraine under the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) programme's weapons procurement scheme.

After the meeting, journalists asked him whether the situation had changed.

Rutte said he received a positive response from allies. He added that he will monitor whether they follow through on their promises.

"I've got a lot of encouraging comments on this. Of course, now we have to see whether they deliver. And I will do everything to make sure they deliver. But I must say this was absolutely understood in the room," he said.

Support for Ukraine will be one of the topics discussed at the NATO ministers' meeting in Sweden, with Norway expected to call for increased contributions to Ukraine's defence capabilities.

A meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council at the foreign minister level is also expected on the sidelines of the event in the format of an informal dinner attended by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.

On 21 May, Sybiha discussed threats posed by Russia and Belarus with Rutte.