UK’s Sunak to announce Ukraine aid during visit to Poland

On Tuesday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will visit Warsaw to hold discussions with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg about Ukraine and broader security issues in Europe.

According to a statement from his Downing Street office, the British prime minister will announce £500 million ($617 million) in new military support for Kyiv during his visit to Poland’s capital. Kyiv has been fighting Russia’s full-scale assault for more than two years.

“Defending Ukraine against Russia’s brutal ambitions is vital for our security and for all of Europe. If Putin is allowed to succeed in this war of aggression, he will not stop at the Polish border,” Sunak said ahead of the trip.

His trip to Eastern Europe coincides with Kyiv’s entreaties to friends to increase ammunition and air defense supplies—which are vital for fending off Russian assaults.

It also occurs at a time when Western nations are under pressure to increase defense budget in response to Russian threats.

As Ukrainian forces are being driven back along the front line, Europe has been unable to supply ammunition to Ukraine, which has been suffering from an increasing scarcity for months.

After six months of political haggling, US senators this weekend cleared a $61 billion military aid package for Kyiv, which relieved some of the pressure.

But EU defence and foreign ministers insist that Europe must still speed up its deliveries of arms to Ukraine.

Germany has answered Kyiv’s call in recent days by saying it would send an extra Patriot air defence system to Ukraine.

Last week, Stoltenberg stated that he anticipated additional NATO members to declare plans for new air defenses for Kiev “soon”.

Sunak is scheduled to declare the UK’s “largest-ever single package of equipment” for the military effort in Ukraine during his visit.

In addition to more Storm Shadow long-range precision-guided missiles, it will include over 1,600 strike and air defense missiles.

Additionally, he will commit to providing around 400 vehicles—including armored ones—and close to four million rounds of small-arms ammunition.