Zelenskiy says meeting of allies pledges aid valued at $2B

PHOTO CAPTION: Ukrainian F-16 fighting aircrafts are seen in the air during marking the Day of the Ukrainian Air Forces, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in an undisclosed location, Ukraine August 4, 2024. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

(Reuters) -     Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the latest in a series of meetings with Kyiv's Western allies in Germany had resulted in pledges of an additional $2 billion in military assistance to help it fight the war against Russia.

Zelenskiy, speaking to My-Ukraina television channel after Thursday's meeting, gave few details of the assistance, but that 34 countries had pledged support in different aspects of the 34-month-old war.

"We had a very good meeting, a very good result. There was $2 billion in additional packages of support to Ukraine," he said in a video posted on the television channel's Telegram account.

The aid covered air defence, information technology, demining, naval forces, air forces and artillery.

"And all this will strengthen Ukraine," Zelenskiy said.

The president gave no details on which countries had made the pledges.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had earlier said that Washington would provide Ukraine with an additional $500 million in military aid, including air defence missiles, air-to-ground munitions and support equipment for F-16 fighter jets.

Zelenskiy attended the meeting at Ramstein and then met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome, where he said he discussed upgrading Ukraine's air defences against Russian attacks and efforts to form a united position on moving forward to a resolution of the war.     

 (Reporting by Ron Popeski; Editing by Michael Perry)