KYIV: A trio of European allies pledged missiles and artillery for Ukraine on Thursday (Friday in Manila) as Kyiv urged partners to scale up support "considerably" ahead of a major donor meeting.The new promises flew in the face of a Kremlin warning against an "extremely dangerous" escalation if the West — long fearful of provoking direct confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia — sent longer-range weapons to Kyiv.As Ukraine ramped up calls for tanks and longer-range weapons ahead of a key meeting in Germany on Friday designed to discuss military aid to Ukraine, Britain announced it would send 600 Brimstone missiles to the war-torn country.Denmark said it would donate 19 French-made Caesar howitzers to Ukraine, and Sweden promised to send its Archer artillery system, a modern mobile howitzer requested by Kyiv for months.EU chief Charles Michel said he believed that tanks "must be delivered" as he visited Kyiv.As the pledges came in, senior Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak said it was "time to stop trembling at [Russian leader Vladimir] Putin and take the final step." "Ukraine needs tanks; tanks — the key to end war properly," Podolyak said on Twitter.Earlier on Thursday, Ukraine's foreign and defense ministries urged allies to "considerably" boost arms deliveries and called on countries that have Leopard tanks, including Germany and Turkey, to send them.
'Whole new level'
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