A comprehensive aid package for Ukraine, which will be approved by NATO allies at the alliance summit in Madrid, will include support for Kiev in the medium term to counter Russian aggression and in the long term to transition to NATO standards. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this Monday in Brussels at a press conference on the eve of the alliance's June 29-30 summit in Madrid.

"At the summit, we will agree on an enhanced Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine, which will include substantial supplies of support in areas such as secure communications, drone defense systems and fuel. In the long term, we will help Ukraine transition from Soviet-era military equipment to modern NATO equipment and further strengthen its defense and security institutions," he said.

Stoltenberg stated that the Ukrainian leadership and people "continue to resist Russia's brutal war of aggression. "Their courage and determination are inspiring. And I welcome President Zelensky to join us at the NATO summit," the alliance secretary general stressed.

He recalled that NATO and allies have provided substantial support to Ukraine since Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, military and financial aid, including the training of tens of thousands of Ukrainian forces.

"All of this makes a difference on the battlefield every day," Stolbenberg said confidently.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Join me LIVE as I preview two days of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NATO?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NATO</a> Summit in Madrid later this week<br><br>NATO HQ, Brussels<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NATOSummit?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NATOSummit</a> <a href="https://t.co/ds1Vm4dVDg">https://t.co/ds1Vm4dVDg</a></p>&mdash; Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) <a href="https://twitter.com/jensstoltenberg/status/1541374592098488320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>