The funding will be channelled through NATO’s Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL. The air-defence equipment is due to arrive before winter to protect critical infrastructure, civilians and the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The decision follows recent visits to Kyiv by the Prime Minister and Defence Secretary Wes Streeting. President Zelenskyy used the meetings to press for more military support ahead of the winter months.
“Both the Prime Minister and I heard loud and clear on our first visits to Kyiv the importance of supporting Ukraine through this winter, as Putin prepares to use winter as a weapon by continuing barbaric attacks against civilian and energy targets,” Streeting said. He announced the package while chairing his first meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group.
“We promised to mobilise allies and provide more support wherever we can,” Streeting said. “Today, we are delivering on that, strengthening Ukraine’s defences and, alongside 50 allies, converting commitment into capability.”
“We will stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine until they win,” Streeting added. “Ukraine’s frontline is the frontline for freedom everywhere and our support will not waver.”
Britain has committed to delivering more than 120,000 drones to Ukraine this year. About 25,000 have been supplied so far, with the pace of deliveries expected to increase before winter.
The planned deliveries include interceptor drones for use against Russian unmanned aircraft. Britain is also supplying reconnaissance drones for battlefield surveillance and attack drones for strike missions.
The UK recently delivered its millionth round of large-calibre artillery ammunition to Ukraine. Tens of thousands of additional long-range rounds will follow in the coming months through funding from Britain, Germany, Denmark, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.
The package follows a separate UK decision allowing MBDA to release classified information on British components used in the SCALP long-range missile, also known as Storm Shadow. The move is intended to support the creation of local assembly lines in Ukraine.
Britain and Ukraine have also signed an agreement to jointly develop artificial intelligence-based military capabilities and other technologies. The deal was concluded during the Prime Minister’s recent visit to Kyiv.
Streeting co-chaired the latest Ukraine Defence Contact Group with German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius. The 36th meeting brought together nearly 50 countries to address immediate battlefield requirements and sustain longer-term military assistance.
