Apparently taking the example of Washington, London committed Tuesday to deliver more military hardware and another £500 million in aid to Kyiv as UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warned that Vladimir Putin will seek to expand further into Europe if Ukraine loses to Russia.
Britain will supply Ukraine with 60 boats, 400 vehicles, over 1,600 missiles, and nearly four million rounds of ammunition as well as £500 million in additional military funding, in the largest single aid package from the UK since the Russian invasion of 2022 and taking the country’s total contributions to £3 billion during this financial year, The Guardian reports.
Speaking on Tuesday before leaving on a trip to meet with the leaders of Germany, Poland and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “Defending Ukraine against Russia’s brutal ambitions is vital for our security and for all of Europe. If Putin is allowed to succeed in this war of aggression, he will not stop at the Polish border,” Sunak said ahead of the trip.
“Ukraine’s armed forces continue to fight bravely, but they need our support – and they need it now. [This] package will help ensure Ukraine has what they need to take the fight to Russia.
“The United Kingdom will always play its part at the forefront of European security, defending our national interest and standing by our Nato allies.”
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps added: “This record package of military aid will give President Zelenskiy and his brave nation more of the kit they need to kick Putin out and restore peace and stability in Europe.
“We will never let the world forget the existential battle Ukraine is fighting, and with our enduring support, they will win.”
The doubling down of support from Downing Street comes just days after the U.S. House of Representatives approved a request from President Joe Biden to commit another $61 billion in aid to Ukraine after Republican Speaker Mike Johnson broke ranks from the majority of his own party to side with the Democrats to pass the legislation.
Neither Downing Street nor the White House have given the public any sense of concrete objectives they wish to see accomplished in exchange for sending billions more in taxpayer money to the conflict.
To date, the UK has pledged around £12 billion to Ukraine, with £7.1 billion in direct military assistance and the rest comprised of various funds for economic and humanitarian aid projects.
The rallying of support for Kyiv in the West comes despite Ukraine failing in its much-touted counteroffensive last year to retake any meaningful amount of territory occupied by Russian forces.
Meanwhile, after largely holding their lines line last year, there is a growing expectation for Moscow to launch a new offensive to seize more land in Ukraine, with experts pointing to the city of Kharkiv — the former capital of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the second largest city in the country behind Kyiv.
There have also been warnings from prominent national security figures, such as the former head of Britain’s Joint Forces Command (Now Strategic Command) General Sir Richard Barrons, who said this month that there is a “serious risk” of Ukraine losing the war outright this year, particularly if the public loses faith in the ability of their badly outnumbered military to fend off the Russians.
The dire circumstances for Ukraine were also admitted to by recently installed Commander in Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, who said earlier this month that the “situation on the Eastern Front has significantly worsened” as Russia seeks to press its advantage amid the warming weather.