Tallinn Pledge: 9 European countries promise unprecedented military aid to Ukraine
Defence ministers and representatives from nine European countries signed the Tallinn Pledge during a meeting on Thursday. It includes the commitment to provide further military assistance to Ukraine against the background of its war with the Russian Federation.
Source: European Pravda; the Tallinn Pledge
Details: A joint statement was signed by the defence ministers of the UK, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, as well as representatives of Denmark, the Netherlands, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
In the document, the signatories condemn "Russia's attacks designed to terrorise Ukraine’s people, including intentional attacks against the civilian population and civilian infrastructure which may constitute war crimes".
"Together we will continue supporting Ukraine to move from resisting to expelling Russian forces from Ukrainian soil. By bringing together Allies and partners, we are ensuring the surge of global military support is as strategic and coordinated as possible," the statement says.
The signatories of the document note that the new level of support for Ukraine requires the provision of tanks, anti-aircraft and anti-missile defence systems that operate together with divisional artillery groups and "further deep precision fires enabling targeting of Russian logistics and command nodes in occupied territory".
"Therefore, we commit to collectively pursuing delivery of an unprecedented set of donations including main battle tanks, heavy artillery, air defence, ammunition, and infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine’s defence," emphasise signatories of the Tallinn Pledge.
They also urged other members of the North Atlantic Alliance and partners to "follow suit and contribute their own planned packages of support as soon as possible to ensure a Ukrainian battlefield victory in 2023".
Background:
Earlier, individual participants in the Tallinn Pledge had already announced their packages of military aid to Ukraine. Denmark will transfer 19 CAESAR self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine; Estonia and Lithuania announced record aid packages; and the UK, among others, will hand over 600 Brimstone missiles to Ukraine.
Additional announcements of military aid are expected at a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, which will be held on Friday, 20 January, at the US Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
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