Britain will send hundreds of thousands of military drones to Ukraine as it continues to fend off Vladimir Putin’s forces, with allies pledging a £450m funding boost for the country.
Ahead of a meeting of the 50-strong Ukraine Defence Contact Group on Friday, Britain announced that £350m of its £4.5bn Ukraine funding this year will be ploughed into the attack aircraft as well as repairs and maintenance of military equipment and vehicles.
The remaining £100m, to be announced by defence secretary John Healey at the contact group’s meeting in Brussels, will come from Norway via the UK-led International Fund for Ukraine.
Mr Healey said: “The work of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group is vital to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position and pile pressure on Putin to help force him to end this terrible war.
“We cannot jeopardise peace by forgetting the war, which is why today’s major package will surge support to Ukraine’s frontline fight.
“2025 is the critical year for Ukraine. Our job as defence ministers is to put into the hands of the Ukrainian war-fighters what they need. We must step up to deter Russian aggression by continuing to bolster Ukraine’s defences.”
It comes a day after Mr Healey pledged a funding boost as he convened counterparts from the smaller “coalition of the willing” in the Belgian capital.
The group is aiming to establish a peacekeeping force in Ukraine once a peace deal is struck between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky. But, following the meeting, Mr Healey said it is important not to forget the fighting is ongoing, warning that “daily reality for millions of Ukrainians continues – drone attacks, missile strikes, brutal fighting on the front line”.
Officials said the latest package of support will boost UK jobs and economic growth, with equipment and repair contracts connecting UK companies with Ukrainian industry.
As well as the military drones and funding for vital repairs, the “close fight” military package includes radar systems and anti-tank mines.
The package comes as US-brokered peace talks between Russia and Ukraine appear to have stalled, with Donald Trump’s attention being taken up by the fallout from his global trade war.
The delay has raised questions about the practical progress made by the coalition of the willing, with the US still refusing to provide a crucial military backstop to any European-led peacekeeping force. Critics have also questioned the logic of making plans to enforce a peace deal it appears Putin has no plans of signing.
Russia has effectively rejected a US-backed proposal for a 30-day pause in hostilities.
Hosting the meeting in Brussels, Mr Healey said the group had “clear objectives” for Ukraine, including “safe skies”, “safe seas”, peace on land and a strengthening of Kyiv’s armed forces.
As the fighting continues, Russia carried out airstrikes against Kyiv earlier in the week while Ukraine claims to have captured Chinese nationals fighting for the Russian army.
Until Donald Trump became president in January, defence contact group meetings were chaired by the US defence secretary.
Since then, in a sign of the US’s disengagement from European security, Mr Healey has taken over that duty, chairing his first such meeting in February.