It comes weeks after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized the slow pace of arms deliveries.
The first batch of Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM) missile systems manufactured by French defense industry group Thales is expected to be delivered by the end of this year, the British government said, promising to “accelerate aid deliveries”.
The new military aid package worth 162 million British pounds (192 million euros) will be officially announced by British Defense Secretary John Healy at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Ramstein, Germany, on Friday.
“This new commitment will provide an important boost to Ukraine’s air defenses and demonstrates our new government’s commitment to stepping up support for Ukraine,” Healey said.
“In recent days we have seen the tragic cost of Russia’s indiscriminate strikes on Poltava and Lviv. These new British-made missiles will support Ukraine in defending its people, infrastructure and territory.”
Thales manufactures LMM at its Belfast plant. The company said the system is “designed to fire from a variety of tactical platforms on land, sea and air against a wide range of conventional and asymmetric threats.”
Healy became defense minister in early July after the Labor Party came to power in Britain after 14 years in opposition.
In a conversation with Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustam Umerov a few days ago, Healy announced that Great Britain would step up its support for Ukraine in the coming months.
He confirmed that Ukraine will also start receiving artillery ammunition worth 300 million British pounds (356 million euros) in the coming months.
2024-09-06 08:04:35