Britain to give Ukraine 650 missiles for air defense worth USD 213 million
The United Kingdom will provide 650 Light Multipurpose Missiles (LMM) under a contract worth GBP 162 million (approximately USD 213 million) to strengthen Ukraine's air defense.
According to Ukrinform, this is stated in a press release from the UK Ministry of Defense.
It is noted that the aid package will be announced today by British Defense Secretary John Healey at a meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine's Defense at Ramstein Air Force Base.
The announcement of the air defense missiles follows a bilateral meeting between Gillies and Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov in London earlier this week, during which they discussed how the UK will continue to increase support over the coming months. During the meeting, the British Minister confirmed that GBP 300 million worth of artillery ammunition will be delivered to Ukraine by the end of 2024.
In line with the new government's commitment to accelerate aid, the first batch of LMM missiles is also expected to arrive by the end of this year.
“In recent days, we have seen the tragic cost of Russia's indiscriminate attacks on Poltava and Lviv. These new British-made missiles will help Ukraine defend its people, infrastructure and territory from Putin's brutal attacks,” said Healy.
The LMM missiles, manufactured by Thales at its Belfast plant, are highly versatile and can be launched from a variety of platforms on land, sea and air.
The press release states that the package is funded primarily by the UK's GBP 3 billion a year financial assistance to Ukraine, as well as Norway's contributions through the International Fund for Ukraine.
As reported by Ukrinform, on September 4, during his visit to the UK, Umerov called on partners and allies to speed up the supply of critical weapons to protect Ukraine from Russian terrorist attacks.
Photo: mil.in.ua