Washington, Jun 15 (AP) The US is expected to announce Wednesday that it will send about $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine, the largest single tranche of weapons and equipment since the war began, in a effort to help stall Russia's slow but steady march to conquer the eastern Donbas region, US officials said.

According to officials, the aid is expected to include anti-ship missile launchers, howitzers, and more rounds for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems that US forces are training Ukrainian troops on now. Officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public.

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The aid comes as US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin convened a meeting in Brussels of more than 45 nations to discuss support for Ukraine. At the start of the meeting, Austin warned that the West must step up weapons deliveries to Ukraine and prove its commitment to helping the country's military fight along a 1,000-km (620-mile) front line in a grinding war of attrition with Russia.

And he urged the participating nations to demonstrate “our unwavering determination to get Ukraine the capabilities that it urgently needs to defend itself”.

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“We must intensify our shared commitment to Ukraine's self-defence, and we must push ourselves even harder to ensure that Ukraine can defend itself, its citizens and its territory,” he said.

The meeting, also attended by Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov, came on the opening day of a two-day gathering of NATO defence ministers at the alliance's headquarters.

Increased arms supplies can't come soon enough for the Ukrainian forces battling to keep Russia from taking control of their country's industrial east after more than 3½ months of war.

In his nightly address to the nation, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded Tuesday for more and faster deliveries of Western arms, specifically asking for anti-missile defence systems. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)