ISTANBUL

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Wednesday the formation of a coalition on the development of air defense, following a 17th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.

“A corresponding coalition has been established -- the air defense development coalition. The leaders in its organization are Germany and France. I am grateful for this leadership. I am also grateful to every country that participates in these efforts, which enable our cities and villages to be more protected from Russian attacks,” Zelenskyy said in an address.

He said new military aid packages for Ukraine have also been agreed upon, which include shells, missiles, electronic warfare, drones and “new capacities for our air defense.”

“Not everything can be said publicly yet, but Ukraine's sky shield is getting more powerful literally every month,” Zelenskyy said, indicating that he expects Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who participated in the meeting, to report on results.​​​​​​​