European countries providing additional military aid to Ukraine | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News

European countries are stepping up their military assistance to Ukraine, as Russian forces intensify their offensive in the country’s eastern regions.

Sweden said on Wednesday it will provide additional assistance of 1.16 billion euros, or about 1.26 billion dollars, to bolster Ukraine’s air defense capability.

The largest-ever military aid package from Sweden includes surveillance and control aircraft capable of identifying distant targets in the air or on the sea.

British newspaper The Guardian reports that this will be the “first time Ukraine has had such a capability since the fall of the Soviet Union.”

It points out the aircraft can send information to the F-16 fighter jets Ukraine will receive from allies.

Ukrainian media are also stressing the significance of the aid, saying the country’s military has so far had to monitor airspace with radar systems on the ground.

German defense minister Boris Pistorius on Thursday announced a new military aid package to Ukraine worth about 540 million dollars.

It includes missiles for air defense, drones for reconnaissance missions over the Black Sea, and spare parts for artillery systems that have already been provided.