UK PM Rishi Sunak To Announce Largest-Ever Military Aid Package to Ukraine

Today, on April 23, the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is heading to Poland to announce a significant support uplift for Ukraine’s military efforts. The pack includes an additional £500 million in funding and the largest-ever shipment of crucial equipment.

During his visit, the Prime Minister will hold talks with Poland’s Prime Minister and NATO’s Secretary-General in Warsaw. The discussions will focus on enhancing security in Europe and providing assistance to Ukraine.

According to the statement, the UK’s aid package consists of 60 boats, more than 400 vehicles, including 160 protected mobility ‘Husky’ vehicles, 162 armored vehicles and 78 all-terrain vehicles, over 1,600 strike and air defense missiles and nearly four million rounds of small arms ammunition. The UK will allocate a £500 million additional funding — which takes us to £3 billion in UK military aid for Ukraine this financial year — to be used to rapidly deliver urgently-needed ammunition, air defence, drones and engineering support.

BBC correspondent Jonathan Bile reports that the package will also include Paveway IV bombs - a precision-guided bomb with GPS or laser guidance and a flight range of over 30 kilometers. This bomb is analogous to the American JDAM and French AASM.

The UK’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement:

“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. The United Kingdom will always play its part at the forefront of European security, defending our national interest and standing by our NATO allies,” Sunak said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed the announcement:

"The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom informed me about the allocation of the largest-ever defense support package worth half a billion pounds sterling. Storm Shadow and missiles of other types, hundreds of armored vehicles and watercraft, ammunition – all of this is truly needed by Ukraine on the battlefield. I am grateful to Great Britain and personally to the Prime Minister for showing such decisive support, as well as for the readiness to continue developing defense cooperation, especially with an emphasis on maritime and long-range capabilities,” Zelenskyy said.