UK to hold donor conference for Ukraine lethal aid: govt

The UK will on Thursday hold a donor conference to mobilise more lethal aid for Ukraine, the Ministry of Defence said Tuesday. "The conference will be held on Thursday and will be convened by the Defence Secretary (Ben Wallace)," the ministry said in a statement to AFP. 

Earlier during a visit to Norway, Wallace said that the conference would "see what else we can gather from around the world to make sure that Russia is not successful in its illegal occupation and invasion of a sovereign country".

The UK has been at the forefront of international efforts to provide Ukraine with weapons.

It said earlier this month that it was preparing to send more portable missile systems to help destroy Russian tanks and aircraft.

Prior to Russia's invasion on February 24, London had sent a contingent of military trainers to instruct Ukrainian forces on using the anti-tank weapons.

But like other NATO allies, the country has rebuffed Ukraine's demands to impose a no-fly zone, fearful of the risk of all-out war with nuclear-armed Russia.