The UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, is visiting Ukraine on Friday to meet his counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, as the UK announced it would provide further military aid to the country over the coming year.
The UK has been one of Kyiv’s staunchest supporters since Russia’s invasion and Sunak said Britain would boost its support in the next financial year to £2.5bn, an increase of £200m on the previous two years.
The extra funding would help Ukraine pay for new military drones, including surveillance, long-range strike and sea drones with most of them expected to be manufactured in Britain.
Sunak’s visit comes at a tense moment after UK and US launched air and missile strikes in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, aimed at halting attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
Zelenskiy has pressed allies in the west to provide Ukraine with more support against Russian forces, amid fears that interest in the war is flagging as the war drags on.
The crisis in the Middle East as Israel continues to bombard Gaza has also turned global attention away from the Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of the country. The UK and US, with support from allies Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands, hit at least 60 targets in 16 locations around Yemen overnight on Thursday.
Announcing his visit to Kyiv, Sunak said: “For two years, Ukraine has fought with great courage to repel a brutal Russian invasion. They are still fighting, unfaltering in their determination to defend their country and defend the principles of freedom and democracy.
“I am here today with one message: the UK will also not falter. We will stand with Ukraine, in their darkest hours and in the better times to come.”
Ukraine’s former defence minister Andriy Zagorodnyuk described the British move as a “big deal”, at a time when military assistance from the US – Ukraine’s most important ally – had dried up.
“It’s a huge announcement, particularly given the freeze we currently see from the US,” he told the Guardian. He said the UK had “stepped ahead” when some allies were “hesitating”.
It was part of a pattern of leadership in which London had provided tanks to Kyiv and encouraged the supply of F-16 fighter jets, Zagorodnyuk said. “It’s hugely appreciated.”
Zagorodnyuk said the package included more than £200m for “a whole range” of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs): “It’s extremely important because this war is more and more about UAVs. They play a critical role.” British drone manufacturers would be able to test “innovative and competitive” designs in real conditions on the battlefield, he suggested.
Sunak made his first visit to Ukraine in November 2022, weeks after entering No 10.
On Friday, the UK’s armed forces minister, James Heappey, described the military action in Yemen as “an act of self-defence”. He told Times Radio: “Our action and the action of the Americans last night was in self-defence in order to defend against further attacks on our warships as they go about their legal and reasonable business.”
Sunak and Zelenskiy will use the one-day visit to sign a UK-Ukraine agreement on security cooperation, after G7 countries agreed at last year’s Nato summit to sign bilateral security assurances with the country.
Downing Street said the £2.5bn in funding would cover long-range missiles, air defence, artillery ammunition and maritime security.
Sunak said the UK recognised that Ukrainian “security is our security”. “Today we are going further – increasing our military aid, delivering thousands of cutting-edge drones, and signing a historic new security agreement to provide Ukraine with the assurances it needs for the long term.”
The prime minister was due to meet Ukrainian emergency workers during the visit, with Sunak also expected to announce a further £18m in aid.
Funding and resources would also be provided for English-language training in the country, No 10 said.
