European states pledge to boost air defence support for Ukraine

Al Jazeera reports that defence ministers from France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom met in Paris on Monday and promised to boost political, military and financial support for Kyiv.[1]According to Al Jazeera, the group, known as the E5, issued a joint statement that also backed security guarantees to be provided by a coalition of Ukraine's allies once a ceasefire or peace agreement is reached.[1]Al Jazeera, citing the dpa news agency, reports that German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said the five countries have assembled winter aid packages and are working with Ukraine on building an air-defence system that will supplement existing defences[1]. The outlet reports that Pistorius said the ministers would also try to ensure Washington continues providing military supplies, intelligence and satellite data.[1]According to Al Jazeera, British Defence Secretary Wes Streeting urged European allies to do more together[1], and he restated that his country would back Ukraine "for as long as it takes". Al Jazeera reports that the ministers also committed to step up efforts to tackle Russia's shadow fleet[1].Al Jazeera reports that the pledge came on the same day a United Nations-appointed commission of inquiry labelled Russia's attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure as war crimes and crimes against humanity.[1]According to Al Jazeera, the Russian Ministry of Defence claimed its forces hit a power station in Kharkiv[1] on Monday. The outlet also reports that negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the US are expected to meet in Abu Dhabi[1] in the first half of November.