Petro Poroshenko Ukraine Russia
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will have funds to improve his country's armed forces Reuters

Nato members are to provide a trust fund to help modernise Ukraine's armed forces, officials have confirmed.

In a press conference held just before the 28 members went to meet Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said: "I can confirm that we will announce the establishment of the trust funds."

He is expected to go into more detail on the scale and nature of these funds at a joint press conference with Poroshenko later today.

Rasmussen praised the alliance's relationship with Ukraine, saying: "Ukraine has been a reliable partner of Nato for many years. Nato stands with Ukraine. We will be working even closer to help reform Ukraine's defence and build a strong, modern army."

The criticism of Russia has been vociferous over the course of the day's events. Leaders have continually said they refuse to recognise Russia's annexation of Ukraine, referred to as an "illegal invasion" that has "destabilised" the region.

Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin have both said they expect a ceasefire to come into place on Friday 5 September.

But a Ukrainian official later said there are 3,000 Russian troops operating inside Ukraine.

An unnamed official told Sky News. "We are still seeing several thousand Russian combat troops on the ground inside Ukraine, equipped with hundreds of tanks and armoured vehicles, so [there is] no substantial change in the disposition of Russian forces inside Ukraine."

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