Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) partners announced that they will jointly provide air defense worth £92m ($116.2 million) to protect Ukraine’s critical national infrastructure and frontline personnel.
THE Ukraine has launched its long-awaited counteroffensive in the south and east of the country, where Russian forces have been dug in since last winter.
The UK Ministry of Defencein the daily relay of updates on the conflict, he said there was an increased presence of Russian airstrikes deployed in response to Ukraine’s offensive operations.
Russian air superiority remains a constant problem for the Ukrainian Armed Forces trying to break through Russian defenses. The JEF believes its latest air defense package will help deter Russia’s indiscriminate raids across the country – against military and civilian sites.
The JEF is a UK-led alliance of northern European countries committed to security and prosperity. The force uses each nation’s high readiness forces, deploying them when and as needed. The alliance consists of ten nation states: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
The equipment will be procured in the coming months through the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU). The JEF will provide radar to help protect against Russian strikes, as well as weapons and a significant amount of ammunition.
The announcement came as UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace attended a meeting of defense ministers from the ten JEF nations in Amsterdam on June 13 to discuss continued support for Ukraine.
Direct support to Ukraine’s counteroffensive
The The United States also announced another round of additional military aid of $325 million. The package includes anti-aircraft ammunition. HIMARS ammunition? 155mm and 105mm artillery shells as well as 15 Bradley fighting vehicles. 10 Stryker armored personnel carriers. Javelin anti-chest systems? AT-4 anti-thoracic systems. Stinger aircraft systems among others.
The US package will help provide more direct support to counterattack operations to breach Russian defenses, while JEF air defenses will also help ensure the protection of infrastructure and people across the country.
In a US Pentagon press briefing on June 13 Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh reported on the package, stating: “as President Zelenskyy said, they continue to engage in offensive operations. As for this package, this is something that meets the priorities of the Ukrainians. Armour, artillery, air defense – these are all priorities they have set.”
A reporter asked Singh if the department could confirm Russian reports that 16 different types of US-supplied armored vehicles were destroyed.
“I’ve seen the reports, but I can’t confirm some of the videos and images that come from it. So we will continue to monitor it, but I just couldn’t confirm the reports,” Singh said.
Read the original at Defence247.gr
