UK to Send More Artillery Guns, Drones, Anti-Tank Weapons to Ukraine

Undated handout photo of an artillery gun being fired, issued by the UK Ministry of Defence on June 25, 2022. UK Ministry of Defence/PA Media

The UK will send hundreds of drones and anti-tank weapons and scores of artillery guns to Ukraine over the coming weeks, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has announced.

The new delivery will “significantly step up the UK’s support” for Ukraine’s fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “brutal and unjustified” invasion, the government said on July 21.

The UK will soon deliver more than 20 M109 155 mm self-propelled guns and 36 L119 105 mm artillery guns to Ukraine’s armed forces, Wallace said in an update to Parliament.

Britain's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace reacts as he leaves the Houses of Parliament in London on July 20, 2022. Justin Tallis /AFP via Getty Images

The new package will also include counter-battery radar systems and more than 50,000 rounds of ammunition for Ukraine’s existing Soviet-era artillery, he added.

This equipment will bolster Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russia’s “indiscriminate use of artillery,” the Ministry of Defence (MOD) said.

In addition, Britain will send more than 1,600 more anti-tank weapons in the coming weeks, along with drones, including hundreds of loitering aerial munitions.

‘Strength of Our Resolve’

“The scale and range of equipment we are providing demonstrates the strength of our resolve,“ Wallace said about the new arms package. ”Together with our international partners, we will ensure Ukraine has the tools to defend their country from Putin’s illegal invasion.”

The new delivery comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson last month promised another 1 billion pounds ($1.2 billion) of military support, bringing total UK support to Ukraine since the start of the war to 2.3 billion pounds ($2.7 billion).

According to the MOD, Britain has so far supplied Ukraine with 6,900 NLAW, Javelin, Brimstone, and other anti-tank weapons, as well as 16,000 artillery rounds, six Stormer vehicles fitted with Starstreak anti-air missile launchers, and hundreds of missiles.

The UK also has supplied maritime Brimstone missiles, multiple launch rocket systems, 120 armoured fighting vehicles, and large quantities of non-lethal aid including more than 82,000 helmets, 8,450 sets of body armour, and more than 5,000 night vision devices.

With the help of the additional funding announced last month, the MOD said, the “next phase of military support” will include “even more sophisticated air defence systems, uncrewed aerial vehicles, and innovative new electronic warfare equipment.”

Russia Vows to Widen War Aims

Russia reacted to Western arms supplies to Ukraine by declaring it will widen its war aims in the country.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on July 20 that Russia’s military “tasks” in Ukraine now will go beyond the eastern Donbas region. He told state news agency RIA Novosti that Moscow’s objectives will expand still further if the West keeps supplying Kyiv with long-range weapons.

Reuters and PA Media contributed to this report.