UK bolsters Ukraine's air defenses with $213M package

The British government said on Friday it would provide Ukraine with 650 lightweight multi-role missiles worth 162 million pounds ($213.13 million) to help protect the country from Russian drones and bombing.

Russia last week unleashed its largest air attack on Ukraine since the full-scale war began early in 2022. Ukraine has made repeated requests for more air defense support to defend itself from missile and drone attacks.

UK bolsters Ukraine's air defenses with $213M package — British Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey speaks on Ukraine, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, at the House of Commons, in London, Britain, March 9, 2022. (Reuters Photo)

The new supply of missiles was announced as British Defense Minister John Healey attended the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, an ad-hoc coalition of some 50 nations, at a U.S. air base in Germany.

British Ministry of Defence said, in keeping with the new government’s commitment to speed deliveries of aid to Ukraine, the first batch of missiles announced on Friday were expected to arrive by the end of the year.

“This new commitment will give an important boost to Ukraine’s air defenses,” Healey said in a statement.

The Ministry of Defence said the missiles made by Thales have a range of more than 6 kilometres (3.73 miles) and can be fired from a variety of platforms on land, sea, and air.

Last Monday, Russia fired more than 200 missiles and drones at Ukraine, killing seven people and striking energy facilities nationwide in what Kyiv called the war’s “most massive” attack.