US pledges Patriot missiles

US president Donald Trump's special envoy to Ukraine and Russia has arrived in Kyiv, a senior Ukrainian official said, as anticipation grew over possible changes in the Trump administration's policies on the more than three-year war.

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Mr Trump teased last week that he would make a “major statement” on Russia yesterday.

The president made quickly stopping the war one of his diplomatic priorities, and has increasingly expressed frustration about Russian president Vladimir Putin’s unbudging stance on US-led peace efforts.

Mr Trump confirmed the US was sending Ukraine badly needed US-made Patriot air defence missiles to help it fend off Russia's intensifying aerial attacks. He said the European Union would pay the US for the “various pieces of very sophisticated” weaponry it was sending.