"Unprecedented" precious gift, peace conference, some people plan to set up a fund to produce weapons for Kiev

On January 12, Ukraine continuously received positive information about the support of allied countries in the conflict with Russia.

Tin vui đến Ukraine dồn dập: Viện trợ quân sự, hội nghị hòa bình, có tổ chức còn tính lập hẳn quỹ sản xuất vũ khí vì Kiev. . (Nguồn: Facebôk)

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited Ukraine on January 12. (Illustration photo. Source: Facebook)

Reuters reported that on January 12, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak signed a security agreement between the two countries in Kiev, which will be in effect until the Eastern European country joins the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Describing it as an "unprecedented security agreement", the Ukrainian leader said: "I am glad that we have signed the first agreement with the UK... This is the basis for cooperation with other partners".

Earlier, the British Prime Minister's Office announced that London would increase military aid to Ukraine in the next fiscal year to £2.5 billion ($3.19 billion), an increase of £200 million compared to two years ago, helping to fund a plan to buy thousands of military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for Ukraine - including surveillance UAVs, long-range attack UAVs and maritime UAVs.

“I come here today with a message: Britain will not back down either. We will stand with Ukraine, in its darkest hours and in the better times to come,” Prime Minister Sunak said in a statement.

Meanwhile, TASS reported that on January 12, Latvia's national radio and television portal lsm.lv quoted the country's President Edgars Rinkevics confirming that Riga is preparing to give Kiev a new military aid package.

“I informed the President of Ukraine about the aid package that includes howitzers, artillery shells, anti-tank weapons, surface-to-air missiles, mortars, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles and personal cold weather equipment,” said President Rinkevics.

The new aid package for Ukraine represents about 1% of Latvia's gross domestic product (GDP) and is worth more than 600 million euros.

A day earlier, the Swiss Foreign Ministry announced that the country will hold a peace conference with the participation of about 120 national security advisers this weekend in the city of Davos.

Also on January 11, European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton proposed establishing a 100 billion Euro fund to increase arms production capacity in the European Union (EU) to support Ukraine in responding to Russia.

Stressing that the fund was necessary and would significantly boost the EU's defence industrial base, Mr Breton also admitted that it was "ambitious and visionary".

The European official said his initiative was still in the idea stage, with many issues to be resolved, especially finding funding.

However, on January 12, the European Commission (EC) and the European Investment Fund (EIF) also announced the establishment of the Defense Equity Fund (DEF) worth 175 million Euros (191.57 million USD) to promote innovation in the field of security and defense.

DEF aims to raise around €500 million through attracting capital from private equity and venture capital funds. Over the next four years, DEF will focus on projects developing technology applications in the civil and defense sectors.

The establishment of the defense equity fund is part of the European Union's (EU) efforts to increase its role in defense policy decisions and control investment and business activities in this field in the event of internal security threats as well as armed conflicts in regions near Europe.

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