US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday announced a new $500-million military aid package for Ukraine at a meeting in Germany.

Austin announced Thursday another round of weapons from the U.S. worth $500 million, including missiles for fighter jets, sustainment equipment for F-16s, armored bridging systems and small arms and ammunition.

Donald Trump must keep backing Ukraine with weapons and ammunition to ensure the country is not “erased off the map”, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said during a final meeting of Kyiv’s allies before the president-elect returns to the White House.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has expanded his threats against Ukraine over Kyiv's suspension of Russian natural gas transit. Source: Teraz.sk, citing Fico's words in Brussels after talks with European Commission officials on 9 January,

Fico has accused Kyiv of damaging Slovakia by not extending a gas transit deal with Russia. He has threatened to retaliate by cutting emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine and on Thursday said the government could also halt humanitarian aid or use its veto right in the European Union related to Ukraine issues.

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico said he wasn’t ruling out the resumption of gas through Ukraine after a deal between Kyiv and Moscow expired at the beginning of this year.