An employee checks a mortar at a production facility of the "Ukrainian Armor" Design and Manufacturing Company, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in an undisclosed location in Ukraine, 9 April 2024;
Credit: Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko/File photo
LONDON (Reuters) - On Thursday 19 December 2024, the United Kingdom said it would send an additional £225 million (€272 million) of military equipment to Ukraine to help it in the war against Russia.
Ukraine has urged allies to bolster it both on the battlefield and diplomatically before any potential talks with Russia. As the war approaches its third year, Ukrainian troops are weary and outnumbered along a 1,170-km frontline.
The package comprised of:
- £92 million for equipment to bolster Ukraine's navy, including small boats, reconnaissance drones, uncrewed surface vessels, loitering munitions and mine countermeasure drones;
- £68 million for air defence equipment including radars, decoy land equipment and counter-drone electronic warfare systems;
- £26 million to provide support and spare parts for systems previously delivered to Ukraine;
- £39 million to provide more than 1,000 counter-drone electronic warfare systems and for joint procurement of respirators and equipment to enhance the protective capabilities of Ukraine's Armed Forces.
The UK also said it would offer more military training to Ukraine.
"The brave people of Ukraine continue to defy all expectations with their unbreakable spirit," British defence minister John Healey said in a statement. "But they cannot go it alone - which is why the UK will step up our international leadership on Ukraine throughout 2025."
