Rishi Sunak calls on world to 'ignore' Putin's call for ceasefire until Russian withdrawal

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is in Latvia to attend a meeting of  Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF). JEF includes Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Nerlands, Sweden, rway and United Kingdom. According to 10 Downing Street, JEF "brings toger ten like-minded nations who share a commitment to democracy, human rights and rule of law, as well as a long history of shared military operations". Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also attended JEF meeting virtually. 

At meeting, Rishi Sunak said that if Russia calls for a ceasefire, its call should be igred, until Russian troops withdraw from Ukraine. Sunak suggested that focus should be on "degrading Russia's capability to regroup and resupply'', as per a report from Sky news. He said that JEF should provide more military aid to Ukraine, especially air defence systems and artillery. Air defence systems are crucial for Ukraine to defend its critical infrastructure from Russian strikes. Sunak believes that a ceasefire will be used by Russia to regroup and recuperate.

What is JEF?

Sunak's comments come on heels of UK government's decision to provide Ukraine with a £250 million military aid. "We must be clear that any unilateral call for a ceasefire by Russia is completely meaningless in current context," Sunak said. Zelenskyy, in his virtual address, asked for more weapons. It is likely that or nations in JEF will follow UK's lead. UK Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) is a military organisation that was established by United Kingdom to improve country's ability to respond to global crises and to project power overseas. It is a flexible agile force that is designed to be rapidly deployable and able to operate across a range of environments, including land, sea, air, and cyber.

JEF was established in 2014 as part of UK's Strategic Defence and Security Review, which was a review of country's national security and defense capabilities. It brings toger personnel from British Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force, as well as or government ncies and partners, to form a flexible and adaptable force that can respond to a wide range of situations. JEF is intended to be a key part of UK's crisis response capabilities, and it is designed to be able to respond quickly to emerging threats and crises around world. It is also intended to enhance UK's ability to work with international partners and allies in responding to global challenges.