John Healey has warned Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine is at a “critical moment” – as £18billion was announced to boost Zelensky’s war effort.
The UK Defence Secretary said the huge package in military aid had been agreed after he hosted a meeting with defence ministers of 50 nations in Brussels.
Ramping up support for Kyiv, Mr Healey said: “2025 is the critical war for this war in Ukraine and now is the critical moment in that war. A moment for our defence industries to step up and they are. A moment for our militaries to step up and they are. A moment for our governments to step up and we are.
“We are sending a signal to Putin but we’re also sending a message to Ukraine and we are saying to Ukraine, we stand with you in the fight and we will stand with you in the peace.”
Mr Healey said allies had agreed to a record £18.2 billion in military support at the meeting on Friday. This includes a £350million share from the UK government to fund anti-tank mines, radar systems and drones.
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He added: “The new pledges of military aid announced today through the UDCG [Ukraine Defence Contact Group] total over 21 billion euros – a record boost in military funding for Ukraine. We are also surging that support to the frontline fight.” He said that the UK would spend a record £4.5 billion on military aid for Ukraine this year.
Mr Healey also warned allies at the meeting that more pressure must be put on Russia’s Vladimir Putin to end the three-year conflict. He said drone casualties in Ukraine now outnumber those inflicted by artillery.
He told a press conference: “Today is one month to the day in which Russia rejected President Trump’s peace settlement. Putin said he wanted peace but he rejected a full ceasefire. Putin said he wanted peace but he continues to drag his feet and delay the negotiations.
“Putin said he wanted peace, but his forces continue to fire on Ukraine – military and civilian targets alike. From January through to March, he launched over 10,000 glide bombs into Ukraine.
“He is launching over 100 one-way attack drones every day and we’ve reached the point now where those battlefield casualties on both sides inflicted by drones now way outnumber those inflicted by artillery. In our calculations, 70%-80% of battlefield casualties are now caused and inflicted by drones.”
The meeting on Friday was co-chaired by German defence minister Boris Pistorius, who said that Ukraine had become “the epicentre of a broader conflict, a conflict between freedom and oppression, between the recognition of global standards and aggressive imperialism, between democracy and authoritarianism”.
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