Rishi Sunak visits Kyiv to announce £2.5 billion in military support for Ukraine

The UK prime minister has travelled to Ukraine with a promise of a new military aid package and humanitarian support for the battered nation. 

During his surprise visit to Kyiv, Rishi Sunak will confirm that military funding to Ukraine will increase to £2.5 billion in the next financial year, Downing Street said, an increase of £200 million on the previous two years. Sunak and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will also sign a new bilateral agreement on security cooperation. 

Ukraine has "fought with great courage to repel a brutal Russian invasion", said Sunak. "They are still fighting, unfaltering in their determination to defend their country and defend the principles of freedom and democracy." The UK "will also not falter", he added. 

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At least £200 million of the package will be spent on "thousands of surveillance, long-range strike and sea drones", said the Financial Times, with most expected to be manufactured in Britain. It will be the biggest delivery of drones to Ukraine from any nation so far, said the paper.

The UK has been "one of Kyiv's staunchest supporters since Russia’s invasion", noted The Guardian, with Sunak making his first visit to Ukraine in November 2022, just weeks after entering No. 10. 

The UK assistance comes as the US and the EU "struggle to secure support packages for Ukraine collectively worth hundreds of billions of dollars", said the FT. "Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline say they have already been forced to ration artillery shells, undercutting their ability to attack and defend against Russian forces," added the paper.

Zelenskyy has been pressing allies in the West for more support in the face of increased Russian aggression, said Sky News, amid fears that "interest in the war is flagging as the conflict drags on". The Middle East crisis and Israel's bombardment of Gaza have "turned global attention away" from Ukraine, said the broadcaster.