The UK has committed an additional £3 billion in military aid to Ukraine in the largest single military package announced by any European nation since the beginning of the war, Keir Starmer announced during a visit to Kyiv on Thursday.
The package includes long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles, NASAMS air defence batteries, artillery ammunition, and an expanded training programme for Ukrainian forces in Britain.
The announcement was accompanied by the signing of a 10-year bilateral security agreement between the UK and Ukraine — a framework for long-term defence cooperation that Starmer described as "a commitment that outlasts any government on either side."
The Strategic Context
The UK package comes amid continuing uncertainty about the level of US support for Ukraine following the changes in Washington's approach to the conflict. European NATO members have been under pressure to increase their own contributions to fill any gap created by reduced American engagement.
Britain's total commitment to Ukraine since 2022 now exceeds £12 billion — more than any other country except the United States — and the announcement positions the UK as the leading European supporter of Ukraine's defence.
Reaction
President Zelensky thanked the UK "on behalf of all Ukrainians" and said the commitment demonstrated that "Europe's democracies understand what is at stake." Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch welcomed the package while calling for greater clarity on the government's overall defence spending trajectory.
Reform UK's Nigel Farage described the commitment as "more money we do not have for a war that has nothing to do with us" — a position that drew widespread condemnation from across the political spectrum.
