Europe, Canada gave over half of security aid to Ukraine last year, NATO says

Adds NATO quotes, more detail and background throughout

BRUSSELS, Feb 11 (Reuters) - NATO members have exceeded their goal and provided over 50 billion euros ($51.60 billion) of security assistance to Ukraine last year, with Europe and Canada contributing more than half, an alliance spokesperson said on Tuesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is pressuring European allies in NATO to spend more on defence and take on a bigger role in supporting Ukraine against Russia's three-year-old, full-scale invasion.

NATO defence ministers will gather in Brussels this week for a meeting to be attended by new U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Defence spending will feature high on the agenda.

During a summit in Washington last year, leaders from NATO's 32 member countries promised a minimum of 40 billion euros ($41 billion) of security assistance for Kyiv "through proportional contributions" and "within the next year".

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has now told allies that this goal has been met.

Acting alliance spokesperson Allison Hart said Rutte "has now confirmed that allies exceeded this commitment, providing over 50 billion euros of security assistance to Ukraine in 2024".

"More than half of this comes from European allies and Canada," she added. The remaining assistance came from the U.S.

NATO did not provide details on the methodology used for calculating contributions.

Ukrainian officials have been urging their Western partners to provide more assistance and faster, stressing the need for more sophisticated air defences and ammunition.

($1 = 0.9691 euros)