Air raid alarm in Kiev and central-eastern regions. Zelensky: We prepare for every defense scenario

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will announce a new artillery package for Ukraine today, on the occasionof a summit in Riga of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), which brings together a dozen Nordic, Baltic and northern European countries. Sunak will attend the JEF’s second face-to-face meeting, where he will urge the group to maintain or increase military assistance to Ukraine in 2023, according to a statement from his Downing Street office. There he will also confirm the supply of “hundreds of thousands of artillery shells” to Ukraine next year, under a £250m (€286m) contract that “guarantees a constant flow of ammunition of artillery” throughout 2023. The prime minister, who recalls being the largest European supplier of defensive military aid to the Ukrainian army, said in the statement that he had already informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about the new aid package last week. For just over five years, the UK has been leading the so-called Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), which includes Sweden, Finland and seven NATO members from Northern Europe. During the meeting, the leaders will address the defense capabilities required by Ukraine, in particular air defense, and will accelerate military cooperation among the members of the group, in particular support for Sweden and Finland in view of their accession to the BORN. “To achieve peace, we must deter aggression. Our joint deployments to the region are key to ensuring we will be able to respond to the most serious threats,” Sunak said. According to Downing Street, the agreement “will accelerate research and digital innovation in both countries”, as well as strengthen cooperation on health, education, cybersecurity, data and connectivity.