Britain is ramping up its military assistance to Ukraine with a new package that includes naval drones, air defense systems and artillery, said British Defence Secretary John Healey.
Training for Ukrainian soldiers under Operation Interflex, a Britain-led multinational military operation, will continue in 2025 regardless of the developments in Ukraine's peace process and a possible ceasefire, Healey said on Wednesday in an interview with the Ukrainian state Ukrinform news agency.
Three years since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine "the depths of his miscalculation are clearer than ever, as the brave people of Ukraine continue to defy all expectations with their unbreakable spirit," he said.
"But they cannot go it alone," Healey added, vowing the UK's support for Kyiv was "ironclad" and Britain would always stand "shoulder to shoulder to ensure Putin cannot win".
It stated during its first budget in July, the new Labour government said it would pledge £3 billion a year in military assistance to Ukraine until 2030-2031.
The new package will be including £92 million on equipment to strengthen Ukraine's navy, which includes small boats, reconnaissance drones and unmanned surface vessels, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
However, he said it is too early to publicly discuss the possibility of British support for deploying an international peacekeeping force in Ukraine, Xinhua news agency reported.
Healey arrived in Kyiv earlier on Wednesday, local media reported.
On the same day, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said on Facebook(NASDAQ:META) that during his telephone conversation with the minister he discussed how Britain could help improve Ukraine's air defense, ensuring an uninterrupted artillery ammunition supply, and on joint defence projects.
Ukraine was interested in how Britain could contribute to co-produce air defence systems, it said. The conversations about Storm Shadow missiles were in the course of discussion in addition to equipping, training, and supplying brigades of the Ukrainian army newly formed.
This would be used for a further £68 million to be spent on air defense equipment, including radars, and 1,000 counter-drone electronic warfare systems at a cost of £39 million, the Ukrainian army would be provided with.
Healey said further that the UK would increase a training program for soldiers from Ukraine run on the British soil with key allies under the name Operation Interflex, through which 51,000 recruits have been trained since mid-2022.
"With Putin resorting to sending as many as 2,000 Russian soldiers to their deaths on the battlefield each day, it is critical that Ukraine is supported with a supply of properly trained and equipped soldiers," the Ministry statement said.
Umerov thanked the UK for its support and said in a statement that the "stable delivery of ammunition, especially for artillery, is critically important for our Defence efforts".
He added the two men had reviewed the results of the use of Storm Shadow missiles, without providing details.
London gave Kyiv the green light to launch the UK-supplied, long-range missiles into Russia for the first time in November.
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