THE UK Government is ramping up its military support to "keep the flames of freedom alive" in Ukraine with thousands of anti-tank and high explosive missiles being prepared to support forces.

The move comes after Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK said yesterday that the country needed more long-range anti-tank weapons from Western allies.

UK military chiefs have warned that president Putin is likely to ramp up “the reckless and indiscriminate use of firepower” which “will result in increased civilian casualties, destruction of Ukrainian infrastructure, and intensify the humanitarian crisis”.

Today, Nato leaders will meet in Brussels to pull together further support for Ukraine – with longer-term military, diplomatic and humanitarian support hoped to be agreed.

Ahead of the meeting of Nato and G7 leaders, Boris Johnson has confirmed a new package including 6,000 missiles – consisting of anti-tank and high explosive weapons, and £25 million in financial backing for the Ukrainian military.

The new help more than doubles the defensive aid provided during the conflict so far – taking the total to more than 10,000 missiles, and comes on top of the £400 million the UK Government has committed in humanitarian and economic aid.

The Prime Minister will set out the UK’s intention to work with Western partners to bolster Ukraine’s defensive capabilities, including longer-range targeting and intelligence, as the Ukrainian people face down the Russian aggression.

The UK Government will also provide an additional £4.1 million for the BBC World Service as part of a cross-government effort to tackle disinformation in Russia and Ukraine, as well as new financial and policing support for the International Criminal Court’s investigation into war crimes committed by president Putin’s regime.

One month into the illegal invasion, the Prime Minister will urge allies and partners to step up the response to Russia’s use of increasingly brutal tactics, including by providing enhanced defensive support to Ukraine and potentially levelling further economic sanctions against the Kremlin.

Mr Johnson said: “Vladimir Putin is already failing in Ukraine.

"The Ukrainian people have shown themselves to be extraordinarily brave and tenacious in defending their homeland, in the face of an unprovoked onslaught.

“But we cannot and will not stand by while Russia grinds Ukraine’s towns and cities into dust. The United Kingdom will work with our allies to step up military and economic support to Ukraine, strengthening their defences as they turn the tide in this fight."

He added: “One month into this crisis, the international community faces a choice.

"We can keep the flame of freedom alive in Ukraine, or risk it being snuffed out across Europe and the world.”

UK Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab, will also chair a meeting of justice and foreign ministers in the Hague today to coordinate support for the International Criminal Court’s war crimes investigations.

The Deputy Prime Minister is expected to announce an additional £1 million in funding for the court, as well as new support from UK soldiers with expertise in intelligence gathering and the Met Police’s war crimes team.

US President Joe Biden is expected to announce further sanctions on Moscow when he arrives in Brussels today for the crunch talks with Western allies while Nato will likely increase its forces in eastern Europe after concerns have been raised by members neighbouring Russia and Ukraine.

Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK said yesterday that the country needed more long-range anti-tank weapons from western allies.

Vadym Prystaiko told Sky News that “we’re running out of weaponry”.

He added: “(Ukrainian) President Zelensky will talk to Nato, the whole of Nato, and we will see how can we replenish our stocks and what we can have that has a much longer range and is stronger than ever.

“We have enough weapons to stop tanks immediately when they approach us.

“But to clear out our land we need to have something with a much greater distance.”

UK Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI), Lieutenant General Sir Jim Hockenhull, said: “The Kremlin has so far failed to achieve its original objectives. It has been surprised by the scale and ferocity of Ukrainian Resistance, and has been bedevilled with problems of its own making.

“Russian operations have changed. Russia is now pursuing a strategy of attrition. This will involve the reckless and indiscriminate use of firepower. This will result in increased civilian casualties, destruction of Ukrainian infrastructure, and intensify the humanitarian crisis.

“Putin has reinforced his control over Russian domestic media. The Kremlin is attempting to control the narrative, hide operational problems and obscure high Russian casualty numbers from the Russian people.”

In the Commons yesterday, Mr Johnson was under pressure to speed up support for those fleeing Ukraine and heading for the UK.

Tory MP Julian Sturdy told Mr Johnson that he welcomed the changes to the visa process to allow applications to be processed more quickly, but that the situation had intensified further since then.

At Prime Minister’s Questions, he said: “Our response must still move much, much faster, with a shift to processing applications in the UK, cutting the red tape and bureaucracy so we can match the scale of Europe’s worst humanitarian crisis since the Second World War.”

The Prime Minister said moving applications online had accelerated the process and it was the “instinct” of the UK to “be as generous as possible”.

Some 15,800 visas had been issued under the Ukraine family scheme as of 5pm on Tuesday, the Home Office said.

So far, there had been a total of 33,500 applications submitted, according to provisional data published on the department’s website.

It comes as a third extract of a hoax call between Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and an imposter posing as Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal was published on YouTube.

In it, Mr Wallace discussed previous desires for Ukraine to join the Nato defence alliance, an ambition that has riled the Russian leader.