Vladimir Putin is “dragging his feet and delaying peace talks” while Russian forces continue bombing Ukraine, John Healey has warned.

Kyiv’s allies have agreed a record 21 billion euros (£18.2 billion) of military support, the Defence Secretary announced after a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) in Brussels.

The support announced on Friday includes a £450 million package from the UK and Norway to fund radar systems, anti-tank mines, vehicle repairs and hundreds of thousands of drones for Ukraine.

And Mr Healey revealed more Russian and Ukrainian troops are being killed by drones than artillery.

John Healey told a joint press conference: "The new pledges of military aid announced today through the UDCG total over 21 billion euros - a record boost in military funding for Ukraine.

"We are also surging that support to the frontline fight."

He added that the UK would spend a record £4.5 billion on military aid for Ukraine this year.

Allies want to bolster Kyiv’s ability to repair weapons systems and vehicles inside the country, to speed up how quickly they can be returned to the battlefield.

John Healey told a joint press conference: "Today is one month to the day in which Russia rejected President Trump's peace settlement.

"Putin said he wanted peace but he rejected a full ceasefire; Putin said he wanted peace but he continues to drag his feet and delay the negotiations; Putin said he wanted peace, but his forces continue to fire on Ukraine - military and civilian targets alike.

"From January through to March, he launched over 10,000 glide bombs into Ukraine.

"He is launching over 100 one-way attack drones every day and we've reached the point now where those battlefield casualties on both sides inflicted by drones now way outnumber those inflicted by artillery.

"In our calculations, 70%-80% of battlefield casualties are now caused and inflicted by drones."

German defence minister Boris Pistorius warned peace in Ukraine "appears out of reach in the immediate future".

Addressing a joint press conference after a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, Mr Pistorius said: "Given Russia's ongoing aggression against Ukraine, we must concede peace in Ukraine appears to be out of reach in the immediate future.

"We will ensure that Ukraine continues to benefit from our joint military support.
"Russia needs to understand that Ukraine is able to go on fighting and we will support it."

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said there is no clarity on what any “reassurance” force could look like.

She said: “Different member states, like I said, have different opinions, and the discussions are still ongoing.

“We are already four weeks into the time when Ukraine agreed to unconditional ceasefire, and we haven’t seen any positive signs on the Russian side.

“So, we really need to put the pressure on Russia, and I think it’s the credibility of all the ones who said that we need the killing to stop.”

British troops could be sent to Ukraine for up to five years as part of a broader European-led effort to rebuild Kyiv's military.

Military planners in London and Paris believe such a deployment could discourage Russian President Vladimir Putin from launching future offensives.

Paris believes it is unlikely Russian President Vladimir Putin would risk launching another large-scale attack while Western forces are stationed inside Ukraine – especially given the limited territorial gains Russian forces are currently capable of making.