The UK pledged another 1.3 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) in military support and aid to Ukraine on Saturday. The British government said the move nearly doubles London’s previous spending commitments in kyiv, and is the country’s highest rate of spending on a conflict since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Putin’s brutal attack is not only causing untold devastation in Ukraine, but also threatens peace and security throughout Europe.” Prime Minister Boris Johnston said in a statement, quoted by Reuters.
The extra money will come from a reserve used by the government for emergencies.
Like other NATO member states, the UK has been supplying kyiv with more and more weapons, including anti-tank and anti-aircraft missile systems and armored vehicles.
This week, London said it would send 13 armored vehicles to the Ukrainian police and National Guard. The UK government has also been supplying tanks to Poland to replace those that Warsaw has donated to kyiv.
Similarly, the United States pledged an additional $150 million in military assistance to Ukraine on Friday. The package includes 25,000 155mm artillery shells, as well as radar and electronic jamming equipment.
Russia has repeatedly criticized the West for “flood” Ukraine with weapons, warning in April that foreign weapons become legitimate targets once they reach Ukrainian soil.
Russia attacked its neighboring state in late February, after Ukraine failed to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The protocols negotiated by Germany and France were designed to give breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.
Since then, the Kremlin has demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. kyiv insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and has denied claims it planned to retake the two republics by force.