Western nations have so far been succesful in delivering arms to Ukraine, but this may become harder in the coming days, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Monday.

"I think it has been extraordinary the amount of arms supplies that are getting in to Ukraine even under the most difficult of circumstances," she told a media briefing in Madrid.

"The international community has been tremendously responsive and has found ways to get the material in. That may become harder in the coming days and we will have to find other ways to manage this," she said without elaborating.

Weapons, ammunition and funds have poured into Ukraine from Western allies since Russia invaded the country on February 24.

The United States last month authorised $350 million of military equipment -- the largest such package in US history -- to help the Ukrainian government fight off the invasion.

The European Union, meanwhile, has agreed to finance the purchase and delivery of arms to Ukraine totalling 450 million euros ($500 million).

Kyiv has urged the West to boost its military assistance to the besieged country, including warplanes, with President Volodymyr Zelensky pleading for Eastern European neighbours to provide Russian-made planes that his pilots are trained to fly.

"It is critical that what we send in is what President Zelensky asks for, because he knows what his military needs most," said Sherman, who is on a week-long trip to Turkey, Spain and North Africa.

Top US, Israel diplomats meet in Riga on Ukraine, Iran
Riga (AFP) March 7, 2022 - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid met Monday to discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the possibility of a new agreement with Iran on limiting its nuclear programme.

Lapid flew to Riga, Latvia to connect with Washington's top diplomat two days after Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett travelled to Moscow for a three-hour meeting with President Vladimir Putin, hoping to find a way to end the bloodshed in Ukraine.

"The way to stop the war is to negotiate," Lapid said at the start of the meeting in a Riga hotel.

"Israel is speaking with both sides, both with Russia and Ukraine, and we're working in full coordination with our greatest ally the United States and with our European partners," he said.

Blinken thanked Israel for its effort to help find an end to the war.

On Sunday Bennett said Israel would press on with diplomatic efforts "as needed," despite Russia continuing its attack 12 days after its forces invaded Ukraine without provocation.

"Even if the chance is not great -- as soon as there is even a small opening, and we have access to all sides and the capability -- I see this as our moral obligation to make every effort," he said.

Lapid also said he would talk with Blinken about Israel's interests in the possible revival of the 2015 nuclear agreement aimed at preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

"We're united and committed to the proposition that Iran must never attain a nuclear weapon," Blinken assured his Israeli counterpart.

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Sanctions, no-fly zone, diplomacy: the West's complex calculus to stop Putin
Washington (AFP) March 5, 2022
Despite unprecedented sanctions and strong support for Ukraine, Western states have failed to stop the Russian onslaught and are even expecting things to get worse. But their options for intensifying pressure on President Vladimir Putin are likely to be limited. - More sanctions? - G7 countries promised Friday to impose "tough new sanctions" on Russia, and the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged to " increase the extraordinary pressure we're already exerting." But there is not much ... read more