Live coverage of the US's announcement of a $2.2 billion arms package for Kiev

 

The United States unveils a new $2.2 billion supply of weapons and ammunition for Ukraine.

In Kyiv, leaders of the European Union met while air raid alerts rang out across Ukraine.

The gathering was a powerful demonstration of unity, but European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen believes there is no "strict" timetable for Kyiv's membership, which is expected to take years.

The chief prosecutor of Ukraine files a criminal complaint against Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group.

Finalizing discussions to deploy an anti-missile system to Ukraine is France and Italy.
According to the French Ministry of Defense, France and Italy have concluded technical negotiations for the combined supply of a SAMP/T-MAMBA air defence system to Ukraine in the spring of 2023.

According to a ministry statement, "this will provide Ukraine the ability to defend itself against Russian drone, missile, and plane strikes, via the covering of a substantial portion of the Ukrainian territory."

EU agrees to price limitations on Russian oil products, says the EU presidency
According to the Swedish EU presidency, EU member states have approved a European Commission plan to establish price controls on Russian oil products.

The price limitations agreed upon by the ambassadors of the 27 EU member states are $100 per barrel for premium oil products like diesel and $45 per barrel for cheaper items like fuel oil, according to EU officials. The suggested deadline for submission is February 5.

Ukraine accepts LED lights supported by the EU
In order to deal with the electricity shortages brought on by Russian strikes, Ukraine has announced that it has begun replacing millions of conventional light bulbs with energy-saving LED lighting. This effort is being supported by the EU.

Moscow has been deliberately attacking Ukraine's electricity infrastructure for months, leaving millions in the dark and the cold in the thick of winter.

In order to combat the widespread blackouts, the EU declared in December that it would pay for Ukraine to buy 30 million LED light bulbs for 30 million euros ($33 million).

The energy-saving LED bulb replacement initiative began this week, according to tweets from Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal.