A military package of £450million to support Ukraine in a “critical year” will be announced today as 50 nations meet to drum up support for Kyiv.
The “surge” in funding will go towards boosting Ukraine’s radar systems, anti-tank mines and hundreds of thousands of drones, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said. The total package includes £350million from the UK, with further funding being provided by Norway, via the UK-led International Fund for Ukraine.
It comes as the UK Defence Secretary John Healey – alongside Germany’s defence minister Boris Pistorius – chairs a meeting of 50 countries at the Nato headquarters in Brussels. Mr Healey will say today it is “vital to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position and pile pressure on Putin to help force him to end this terrible war”.
He will add: “We cannot jeopardise peace by forgetting the war, which is why today’s major package will surge support to Ukraine’s frontline fight. 2025 is the critical year for Ukraine.
Our job as defence ministers is to put into the hands of the Ukrainian war fighters what they need. We must step up to deter Russian aggression by continuing to bolster Ukraine’s defences.”
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Chancellor Rachel Reeves will also head to a separate meeting with EU ministers in Warsaw today to call for stronger cooperation on defence spending.
A Treasury source said: “A strong economy needs a strong national defence. That is why the Chancellor will be travelling to Warsaw to make the case for deeper defence financing cooperation with our European allies so together we deliver greater economic and national security in a changed world.”
The Defence Secretary’s also met with top ministers from 30 nations yesterday as part of the “coalition of the willing”. Mr Healey said plans for a peacekeeping force in Ukraine – to police any future peace agreement reached between Moscow and Kyiv – were “real and substantial”.
He said: “We advance the momentum of that planning here today, planning to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position to protect its sovereignty and to deter any further Russian aggression. While today’s discussions will be private, our planning is real and substantial.” But the prospect of a ceasefire still appears distant, as Russia has effectively rejected a US-backed proposal for a 30-day pause in hostilities.
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