Sharjah 24 – AFP: Less cautious about its military support and more explicit in its war aims, the West shifted gears in its support for Ukraine this week despite the risk of a direct conflict with Russia.

"We want to see Russia weakened to the degree that it can't do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine," US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Monday.

The remark underlined Washington's widening objectives in the conflict beyond simply enabling Ukraine to defend its territory from Russian attack.

On Tuesday, the United States convened talks on increasing support for Kyiv with around 40 countries -- including all NATO members -- at the Ramstein military base used by US forces in Germany.

On Wednesday, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss toughened British rhetoric as she called on the West to "ramp up" military production including tanks and planes to help Ukraine.

She also said that Russia must be pushed out of "the whole of Ukraine", implying that Britain backed Ukraine re-taking the province of Crimea which was annexed by Moscow in 2014.

Having been reluctant to deliver heavy weapons to Ukraine in the early stages of the conflict, Britain, France, the United States and even Germany are now delivering increasingly sophisticated firepower.

US President Joe Biden announced a huge $33 billion package on Thursday for arming and supporting Ukraine, with the equivalent of 10 anti-tank weapons being supplied for every Russian tank.