Ukraine and Romania signed a 10-year security agreement as per the Ukrainian presidential office. The deal brings the total number of long-term bilateral agreements Kyiv has signed with partners such as Britain, Germany, France, and the U.S., to 23. The documents have a similar framework but differ in details.
“A special feature of this agreement is specific points of cooperation to strengthen security in the Black Sea region,” a Ukrainian statement said. Romania will assist in mine clearance in the Black Sea, it added. The agreement also envisages Romania’s contribution to training Ukrainian pilots for F-16 jets.
Ukraine and the European Union (EU) also signed a security agreement to help the war torn nation in nine critical areas on June 27th. The agreement will pave a way for the EU to keep delivering weapons, military training, demining, defence industrial cooperation among other critical areas to keep Ukraine in a condition where it is able to effectively defend itself against further threats from Russia for the next few years as per the draft document prepared by EU.
The draft document states that Europe is committed to Ukraine as the embattled country pursues its European path. The document does not specify the value of the forthcoming assistance to Kyiv. The draft does not mention any new pledges to Ukraine, but does mention USD 5.34 billion that EU agreed to give to Ukraine as military aid. The paper does call for a review after 10 years.
The US too has been announcing regular packages for Ukraine since Congress passed legislation that approved nearly $61 billion in aid for Ukraine earlier this year. The US recently moved Ukraine to the top of the list to receive air defence capabilities, putting it ahead of other countries that may have already been in line to receive them.
(With Inputs from Reuters)
