Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday picked up a second USD 1 billion promise of military aid in as many days for his war with Russia during a whirlwind tour through the European Union. The pledge came from Belgium, which topped up the money with a commitment to give 30 F-16 fighter jets over the next four years.

The Netherlands added to the goodwill by promising to quickly assemble with key EU partners a Patriot air defence system, which Zelenskyy sees as key in stopping Russia from hitting the power grid and civilian areas, as well as military targets, with devastating glide bombs that wreak wide destruction.