Britain pledges over $3 billion for Ukraine military aid in 2024

LONDON — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to provide the Ukraine with £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) in military funding this year during a visit to Kyiv, with the supply of long-range attack drones being a top priority.

A statement issued by the British government as Sunak arrived by train in the Ukrainian capital on Jan. 12 said the commitment would include funding for drones, artillery ammunition, long-range missiles, air defense and maritime security.

The pledge is set to take British spending on military assistance to Ukraine to over £7 billion since Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022.

Sunak’s promise for 2024 represents a £200 million increase on the £2.3 billion sent in each of the previous two years and maintains Britain’s position as the second-largest provider of military aid in Europe, behind Germany.

The latest announcement comes at a time of increasing concern in Ukraine over future funding plans by the U.S. and some European nations.

Sunak, though, said there would be no backsliding on defense aid by the British .

“I am here with one message: the UK will not falter. We will stand with Ukraine, in their darkest hours and in the better times to come,” he said. “The UK is already one of Ukraine’s closest partners, because we recognize their security is our security.”

The British said a substantial portion of the funding for the financial year starting in April will go towards boosting the supply of various types of drones.

“At least £200 million will be spent on a major push to rapidly procure and produce thousands of military drones for Ukraine, including surveillance, long-range strike and sea drones,” said the British government statement.

Officials said the planned drone deliveries will be the largest yet undertaken by any nation supporting Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion in 2022.

Most of the drones are expected to be built in the U.K., although the statement also said the MoD is working with international partners to significantly scale up the number of drones supplied to the Ukraine military.

No details are so far available on the types of drones being funded by the British in this latest package of weapon commitments.

London is also expected to strengthen its ties with the Ukrainian government with the signing of a broad security cooperation agreement during Sunak’s visit – his second since becoming prime minister last year.

The agreement formalizes support the British have been providing to boost Ukraine’s security, including intelligence sharing, cyber security, medical and military training, and defense industrial cooperation .

The NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, last year saw G7 nations agree to provide Ukraine with bilateral security assurances, with the U.K. being the first country to deliver a final agreement.

Andrew Chuter is the United Kingdom correspondent for Defense News.

伦敦——英国首相里希·苏纳克在访问基辅期间承诺，今年将向乌克兰提供 25 亿英镑（32 亿美元）的军事援助，其中远程攻击无人机的供应是重中之重。

1月12日，苏纳克乘火车抵达乌克兰首都时，英国政府发表声明称，这项承诺将包括为无人机、炮弹、远程导弹、防空和海上安全提供资金。

自俄罗斯于 2022 年 2 月入侵乌克兰以来，这项承诺将使英国对乌克兰的军事援助支出超过 70 亿英镑。

苏纳克承诺在 2024 年增加 2 亿英镑的援助，比前两年每年提供的 23 亿英镑增加了 2 亿英镑，使英国继续保持欧洲第二大军事援助提供国的地位，仅次于德国。

最新声明发布之际，乌克兰国内对美国和一些欧洲国家未来的资金计划日益感到担忧。

不过，苏纳克表示，英国不会在国防援助方面做出任何让步。

“我今天来这里只有一个信息：英国绝不会动摇。我们将与乌克兰站在一起，无论是在他们最黑暗的时刻，还是在未来的美好时光，”他说。“英国已经是乌克兰最亲密的伙伴之一，因为我们认识到，他们的安全就是我们的安全。”

英国方面表示，从四月开始的财政年度的大部分资金将用于增加各种类型无人机的供应。

英国政府声明称：“至少将花费 2 亿英镑大力推动向乌克兰快速采购和生产数千架军用无人机，包括侦察无人机、远程打击无人机和海上无人机。”

官员们表示，此次计划中的无人机运送行动将是迄今为止任何支持乌克兰对抗俄罗斯入侵的国家在 2022 年开展的最大规模的行动。

声明还表示，大部分无人机预计将在英国制造，但英国国防部正在与国际合作伙伴合作，大幅增加向乌克兰军方供应的无人机数量。

目前尚无关于英国在最新一轮武器承诺中资助的无人机类型的详细信息。

预计伦敦还将加强与乌克兰政府的关系，在苏纳克访问期间签署一项广泛的安全合作协议——这是他自去年就任首相以来的第二次访问。

该协议正式确立了英国为加强乌克兰安全而提供的支持，包括情报共享、网络安全、医疗和军事培训以及国防工业合作。

去年在立陶宛维尔纽斯举行的北约峰会上，七国集团同意向乌克兰提供双边安全保障，英国是第一个达成最终协议的国家。

Andrew Chuter 是《防务新闻》的英国记者。