UK transfers the largest-ever military aid package to Ukraine
A £500 million boost from the United Kingdom includes additional military funding and the delivery of some vital equipment for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
are shaking hands. November 19, 2022.
Photo: Presidential Office of Ukraine
“Defending Ukraine against Russia’s brutal ambitions is vital for our security and for all of Europe (…) Ukraine’s armed forces continue to fight bravely, but they need our support – and they need it now. Today’s package will help ensure Ukraine has what they need to take the fight to Russia,” stated British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
In particular, the £500 million additional military funding for Ukraine will be used to rapidly deliver urgently needed ammunition, air defense, drones and engineering support. The UAVs, aimed to be transferred to Ukraine, will be procured in the UK, and the funds will support a scale-up in domestic defense supply chains.
Read more: Ukraine and the UK signed the Agreement on Security Cooperation
In addition, the British Ministry of Defence will also send Ukraine the largest-ever single package of equipment designed to help fight Russian forces on land, sea, and in the air. It consists of:
- 60 boats, including offshore raiding craft, rigid raiding craft, and dive boats, as well as maritime guns;
- more than 1,600 strike and air defense missiles, as well as additional Storm Shadow long-range precision-guided missiles;
- more than 400 vehicles, including 160 protected mobility ‘Husky’ vehicles, 162 armored vehicles and 78 all-terrain vehicles;
- nearly 4 million rounds of small arms ammunition.
during a military exercise in the Donetsk region.
Photo: Vadim Ghirda
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the UK and personally British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for such a strong demonstration of support and further development of the defense cooperation among the states.
“Storm Shadow and other missiles, hundreds of armored vehicles and watercraft, ammunition – all of this is needed [by the Armed Forces of Ukraine – ed.] on the battlefield,” commented Zelenskyy on X (Twitter).
In total, including the newest largest-ever military aid package to Ukraine, the UK military assistance for Ukraine for the 2024 financial year amounts now to £3 billion.
Earlier, on April 20, the US House of Representatives approved a long-awaited military aid package for Ukraine worth almost $61 billion.
