'Solidarity and support' EU proposes €5bn military aid package after historic' meeting

Ukraine is set to receive billions of euros more in military aid, as well as training for fighter U pilots, the EU's top diplomat said, after a "historic" meeting of EU foreign ministers in Kyiv.

- Luke Harding and Lisa O'Carroll

Josep Borrell, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs, said on Monday the 27-nation bloc remained committed to helping Ukraine defeat a "brutal and inhumane" Russia.

"I don't see any member state faltering," he said, reinforcing a declaration by the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, last Friday that he was confident Slovakia and Poland would continue to support the fight.

Borrell said the EU had proposed a "bilateral envelope" worth €5bn ($5.3bn) for Ukraine's armed forces. EU countries would train 40,000 soldiers, provide "special training" for fighter pilots and deepen ties between EU and Ukrainian defence companies.

His comments came after EU foreign ministers held talks with Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Apart from meetings at the United Nations, it was the first time they had gathered outside EU territory and the first informal summit to take place in a war zone, Borrell said.