German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said that he had discussed continued support for Ukraine in the conflict with Russia, as he met with his counterpart from the Netherlands, Ruben Brekelmans, in Berlin on Wednesday.

"We exchanged views and assured each other that we will continue to support Ukraine, because the situation there is serious," he said. "We are also strengthening NATO's European pillar, the best example of which is the German-Dutch Corps. In future, it will serve as the corps command on NATO's north-eastern flank. It will therefore play a very central role in the implementation of NATO's regional plans."

"We are jointly financing battle tanks and armoured recovery vehicles. We are massively strengthening the Ukrainian air defence together and we are also closely linked in terms of training," he continued.

Brekelmans added that the "current security challenges demands strong co-operation between like-minded partners and friends like Germany and the Netherlands."

"We stand united in our support for Ukraine and I want to thank you also personally for the important role that you are playing and the important role that Germany is playing," he said.

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky outlined his 'Victory Plan' to his parliament on Wednesday, including demands for an immediate invitation to join NATO, permission to use long-range weaponry supplied by allies for strikes deep inside Russia, a 'non-nuclear strategic deterrent package' in the country, protection for Ukraine's natural resources and replacing some US troops across Europe with Ukrainian forces.

Later, NATO chief Mark Rutte refused to be drawn on the state of ongoing talks between allies, only repeating that Ukraine's membership journey was 'irreversible'.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov said it was 'most likely the same US plan to fight us to the last Ukrainian that Zelensky disguised and called a peace plan' and claimed that a real plan would require Kiev to realise 'the futility of the policy that they are pursuing'.