In conjunction with the arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for discussions with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Britain unveiled a fresh military aid package for Ukraine on Monday.
Numerous long-range attack drones and air defense missiles are part of the new assistance.
Before the meeting, Zelensky tweeted, “The UK is a leader when it comes to extending our capabilities on the ground and in the air. We’ll keep working together today. I’ll run across my pal Rishi. We’ll hold in-person, delegation-based substantive negotiations.
Meetings were scheduled for Monday at the prime minister’s rural estate, Chequers.
In a statement, Sunak stated that “this is a pivotal moment in Ukraine’s resistance to a terrible war.”
Zelenskyy recently visited a number of Western countries, including Paris, Berlin, and Rome. His stop in Britain was the most recent of these trips.
In a fresh round of military assistance, France has stated that it will give tanks, armoured vehicles, and training to Ukrainian soldiers as Ukraine gets ready for an anticipated counteroffensive in its struggle against an invasion by Russia.
The office of French President Emmanuel Macron issued a statement promising to back Ukraine with military, diplomatic, economic, and humanitarian aid “for as long as necessary” in addition to providing the light tanks and armoured vehicles “in the weeks ahead.”
Aiming to train 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers in France and roughly 4,000 more in Poland this year, France will also help Ukraine’s air defences.
The declaration came after Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met after the latter’s arrival in Paris on Sunday.
Zelenskyy also voiced the expectation that France will back Ukraine’s campaign to persuade allies to give it combat planes. While Western governments have so far opposed deploying more sophisticated planes like the American-made F-16, Ukrainian officials have campaigned for jets as the next advancement in the military assistance available for Ukrainian forces.
The Ukrainian president made stops in Germany and Italy before continuing on to France.
The largest aid package from Germany to Ukraine since Russia began its full-scale invasion in February 2022 is $3 billion.
Zelenskyy and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz addressed the media together on Sunday in Berlin. “Now is the time for us to determine the end of the war already this year, we can make the aggressor’s defeat irreversible already this year,” Zelenskyy said.
While tens of billions of dollars’ worth of equipment have been provided, the beleaguered nation has repeatedly requested more to dislodge the Russian military, including longer-range missiles like the ATACMS.
Over the last year, the US has been circumspect about giving Ukraine weapons that may enable them to launch attacks inside Russian territory.
In August, Colin Kahl, the Under Secretary of Defence for Policy, informed reporters that according to the US assessment, Ukraine does not “currently require ATACMS to service targets that are directly relevant to the current fight.”
The Storm Shadow is a “deep strike weapon” that can “be operated day and night in all weathers,” according to MBDA Missile Systems, the European firm that makes the missile. It also has a sophisticated navigation system to assure precision.
According to the MBDA website, “After launch, the weapon descends to terrain hugging altitude to avoid detection.
