The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine dominated this year's Munich Security Conference, which concluded on February 19 with vows of additional support for Kyiv and pleas for even more aid highlighting the activity.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas outlined a proposed procedure for the European Union to purchase ammunition for Ukrainian defense on behalf of member states.
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Under the proposal, member states would make money available to the EU, which would award large contracts to munitions producers, enabling them to ramp up production. A similar program was created during the COVID-19 pandemic to facilitate vaccine production.
"Russia is firing in a day the monthly European production of artillery shells," Kallas said. He added that Russian producers are working around the clock and urged the EU to expand production immediately.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell endorsed the proposal and said the bloc was "working" on the idea.
"We are in war mode, urgent war mode," Borrell said on February 19.
On the first day of the conference, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris reaffirmed that the United States will support Ukraine for "as long as it takes."
That comment was welcomed by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who slammed Moscow for waging a "genocidal war" against Ukraine.
As the conference closed, U.S. lawmakers said that Ukrainian officials -- including Kuleba -- had called on members of the U.S. Congress to push President Joe Biden's administration to send F-16 jetfighters to Ukraine to aid the fight against Russia.
WATCH: RFE/RL's Roman Pahulych accompanied a Ukrainian drone crew as they sent up the army's Leleka-100 unmanned aerial vehicle into occupied territory.
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Ukrainian Team Sends Drones Deep Into Russian-Controlled Territory By Night
"They told us that they want [F-16s] to suppress enemy air defenses so they could get their drones" beyond Russian front lines, Senator Mark Kelly, a former Navy jetfighter pilot, told Reuters.
Biden has so far rejected the requests, saying the focus should be on providing weapons that can be used on the battlefield in the near term rather than supplying jets that would require a substantial training period.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington and its allies remain "stronger than ever" behind Ukraine, while NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the international community must "give Ukraine what they need to win and prevail."
For the first time in two decades, Russia was not invited to the conference, as Western countries seek to isolate Moscow diplomatically over its invasion of Ukraine.
The Munich conference was held on the eve of a February 20-22 trip by Biden to Poland, where he is expected to meet with U.S. allies in Europe and assure them of the U.S. commitment to European security and to continued assistance to Ukraine.
SEE ALSO: How Did Everybody Get The Ukraine Invasion Predictions So Wrong?Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on February 19 said he and Biden will discuss the possibility of increasing the U.S. troop presence in Poland and making it more permanent.
The United States has roughly 11,000 personnel on rotation in Poland.
Biden said last June the United States would set up a new permanent army headquarters in Poland in response to Russian threats.
Russia launched its full-scale, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine one year ago, on February 24, 2022. It sparked the largest war in Europe since World War II, leaving tens of thousands of people dead and millions displaced.