Lloyd Austin meets with defence ministers as Russia accuses west of engaging in ‘proxy war’
Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, has said the west was gearing up to help Ukraine for “the long haul” and would take steps to boost rearmament to help the embattled country following a meeting of defence ministers in Germany.
Politicians present also discussed coordinating future arms supplies on top of $5bn (£3.9bn) already committed, but the growing effort has already prompted Russia to accuse the west of engaging in “a proxy war” by arming Ukraine against Moscow.