Britain to allocate $20M to strengthen Ukraine's cyber defenses

The United Kingdom will provide GBP 16 million (nearly $20 million) in funding to help Ukraine's cyber defenses, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said.

That's according to Sky News, Ukrinform reports.

"Russia's appalling attacks on Ukraine are not limited to their barbaric land invasion, but also involve sickening attempts to attack their cyber infrastructure that provides vital services, from banking to energy supplies, to innocent Ukrainian people," Sunak said.

He noted that the package would better equip Ukraine to defend its critical national infrastructure from crippling Russian attacks as Kyiv pushes back Russian forces from the swathes of southern and eastern Ukraine that they occupy.

Read also: Over 20 Japanese firms plan to attend Ukraine Recovery Conference in London

"This funding is critical to stopping those onslaughts, hardening Ukraine's cyber defenses and increasing the country's ability to detect and disable the malware targeted at them," Sunak said.

Next week Sunak will also ask entrepreneurs and businesses to step up their investment in Ukraine at a conference to help it rebuild the country's economy after Russia's invasion.