The British government will send more weapons to Ukraine and will continue to bolster its contribution to NATO, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said.
The UK has already supplied Ukraine with 2,000 new light anti-tank weapons (NLAWs), along with smaller arms and ammunition.
Addressing the House of Commons on Wednesday, Wallace said Britain has increased the supply of arms to Ukraine in response to “further acts of aggression by Russia.”
“I can update the House as of today we will have delivered 3,615 NLAWs and will continue to deliver more,” he said, adding: “We will shortly be starting the delivery of small consignments of anti-tank Javelin missiles as well.”
In response to a Ukrainian request, the UK government is also considering donating Starstreak high-velocity manned portable anti-air missiles, Wallace told MPs.
“We believe that this system will remain within the definition of defensive weapons but will allow the Ukrainian force to better defend their skies,” he said.
In view of the rising civilian casualties, Wallace said the UK will increase its funding for Ukraine to £220 million ($289 million), which includes £120 million ($158 million) of humanitarian aid.
The defence secretary said Russian President Vladimir Putin “should be and can be in no doubt that the international community is united against his actions.”
In addition to providing direct military support to Ukraine, he said, the UK will continue to bolster its contribution towards NATO’s collective security.
He said the UK is “doing its bit in providing military support and reassurance to its allies,” and is supplying “significant air power to NATO,” including an increase in air patrols.
Wallace added that the UK has put more than 1,000 British troops on readiness to support humanitarian responses in the countries bordering Ukraine.
Earlier, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Parliament: “Working with our friends and allies across the free world, we will be doing even more in the coming days to protect the people of Ukraine.”
According to the latest intelligence from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), Ukrainian cities are continuing to suffer heavy shelling but the Russian assault on capital Kyiv had failed to make major progress.
“Fighting north-west of Kyiv remains ongoing with Russian forces failing to make any significant breakthroughs,” the MoD said.
“The cities of Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, and Mariupol remain encircled by Russian forces and continue to suffer heavy Russian shelling.
“Ukrainian air defences appear to have enjoyed considerable success against Russia’s modern combat aircraft, probably preventing them achieving any degree of control of the air.”
