UK to Send 6,000 More Missiles to Ukraine: Johnson

Members of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces examine new armament, including NLAW anti-tank systems and other portable anti-tank grenade launchers, in Kyiv, on March 9, 2022. Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a major new package of support for Ukraine, including 6,000 more missiles, to help the country in its war against Russia.

In addition to anti-tank and high-explosive weaponry, the UK is also providing £25 million ($33 million) from the Foreign Office’s conflict security and stabilisation fund to help pay the salaries of Ukrainian soldiers and pilots.

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson disembarks from an aircraft ahead of an extraordinary summit at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, on March 24, 2022. Henry Nicholls /Pool/AFP via Getty Images

The announcement comes as Johnson joins fellow NATO leaders in Brussels for an emergency summit to discuss the latest situation a month on from the start of the Russian invasion.

The prime minister said: “[Russian President] Vladimir Putin is already failing in Ukraine. The Ukrainian people have shown themselves to be extraordinarily brave and tenacious in defending their homeland, in the face of an unprovoked onslaught.

“But we cannot and will not stand by while Russia grinds Ukraine’s towns and cities into dust. The United Kingdom will work with our allies to step up military and economic support to Ukraine, strengthening their defences as they turn the tide in this fight.”

Johnson called on NATO leaders to “keep the flame of freedom alive in Ukraine,” warning that failure to do so could lead to freedom “being snuffed out across Europe and the world.”

A member of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces looks at destruction following a shelling in Ukraine's second-biggest city of Kharkiv on March 8, 2022. Sergey Bobok/AFP via Getty Images

The UK has already provided over 4,000 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine’s armed forces, including Next generation Light Anti-Tank Weapons Systems, or NLAWs, and Javelin missiles.

Britain is also supplying Starstreak high-velocity anti-air missiles to help Ukrainians defend themselves against Russian aerial bombings.

The NATO meeting is expected to sign off on the formation of four new battle groups in Eastern Europe.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the battle groups—each numbering between 1,000 and 1,500 troops—would be deployed in Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, and Bulgaria.

The alliance already has 40,000 troops in Europe under its direct command, nearly 10 times the number it had a few months ago.

Stoltenberg told a news conference on Wednesday that the forces will remain in place “as long as necessary.”

“This is a significant reinforcement of our presence in the east with air, sea, and land forces,” he said.

“We are there to protect and defend allies, ready to respond massively to any potential threat or attack against any NATO allied country.”

PA Media contributed to this report.