A senior US defence official delivered a stark, eight-word warning to Vladimir Putin on Wednesday as NATO ministers gathered to marshal fresh military and economic pressure on Russia, warning: “The United States will take the steps necessary.” Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth was speaking at a meeting of NATO defence ministers and the Ukraine Defence Contact Group just hours before his plane was forced to make an unscheduled landing in the UK due to a cracked windshield.

He told delegates in Brussels: “European leaders are sending a clear message to Russia. Now is the time to end this tragic war, stop the needless bloodshed, and come to the peace table. Now, if this war does not end, if there is no path to peace in the short term, then the United States, along with our allies, will take the steps necessary to impose costs on Russia for its continued aggression.”

Mr Hegseth closed his remarks by urging allies to “seize this moment” to pursue “peace through strength,” crystallising a transatlantic argument that deterrence and assistance must proceed together — and that failure to act, he implied, would bring consequences Russia would feel.

The warning came as several European capitals announced substantial new military support and as the UK unveiled one of its most severe sanction packages yet against Russia’s oil sector.

Germany’s defence minister, Boris Pistorius, pledged more than $2 billion of assistance, saying Berlin would buy £373 million ($500 million) of US weapons under NATO’s fast-track procurement plan and would directly supply additional air-defence systems, Patriot interceptors, radar, precision guided artillery rockets and ammunition.

Germany will also send two Iris-T air-defence systems and shoulder-fired missiles, Mr Pistorius said.

The German package feeds into the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), an initiative under which European allies and Canada buy US weapons for Kyiv to plug critical gaps as European stockpiles run low.

Finland, Sweden, Estonia and Lithuania said they would join the PURL scheme or provide complementary packages, with Finland’s Antti Hakkanen describing the US systems as “critical” and Sweden’s Pal Jonson urging a reversal of a “wrong trajectory” of falling support.

Ukraine’s defence minister, Denys Shmyhal, used the gathering to set out a sobering funding demand for next year. He put Kyiv’s 2026 defence needs at £90 billion ($120 billion), saying Ukraine would cover half from national resources and asking partners to pick up the remainder – roughly the equivalent of 0.25% of their GDP each if shared across allies.

Mr Shymal explained: “Air defence systems are most in need.” He pointed to a surge in attacks, saying Russia had launched “over 5,600 strike drones and more than 180 missiles” in the previous month alone, and stressed the urgency of shoring up Ukraine’s capabilities before winter.

The UK moved in parallel on the economic front. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper announced sanctions on Rosneftand and Lukoil, two of the world’s largest energy firms, and further measures against 44 vessels in the so-called “shadow fleet” used to obscure shipments of Russian oil.

The Government said the two producers collectively export about 3.1 million barrels a day, and that targeting them would tighten pressure on Moscow’s revenues.

Unveiling a package of 90 new sanctions that also names refineries accused of importing Russian crude, Ms Cooper told MPs in the House of Commons: “We will ramp up the pressure on Russia to ensure that their escalation comes at a clear costs.”

Conservative voices on the opposition benches urged yet tougher action.

Dame Priti Patel said Britain should lead allies to “raise the price of Russia’s aggression by cutting off its financial lifelines.”

Defence Secretary John Healey emphasised that NATO must ensure its support “matches Putin’s escalation”.

Mr Healey confirmed the UK’s participation in NATO’s Eastern Sentry air policing mission in Poland would continue through the end of the year, and said London was ramping up drone production for Ukraine.

Data cited by several delegations shows Western military aid to Ukraine has recently dipped, prompting warnings that donor fatigue and domestic fiscal pressures in countries such as France, Italy and Spain risk undermining Kyiv’s capacity to withstand Russian attacks.