British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is preparing to announce a new military aid package to Ukraine that will include “hundreds of anti-aircraft missile systems” and unmanned aerial vehicles with a range of 200 km, The Telegraph reported, citing the politician’s office.
It is claimed that Sunak will announce his decision within the scope of his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The report says the weapons are scheduled to be “delivered in the coming months as Ukraine prepares to strengthen its resistance.”
A few days ago, it was learned that the British Prime Minister will speak at the G7 summit to be held in Hiroshima on 19-21 May to reinforce the support provided to Ukraine.
On May 15, Zelensky arrived in London, including negotiations with Rishi Sunak. The British politician has already reacted to Zelensky’s arrival with a Twitter post: “Welcome back.”
Speaking earlier about his trip abroad, the Ukrainian politician stated that “the UK is a leader when it comes to expanding our capabilities on earth and in the sky”.
Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Russian presidency, said Moscow “received it extremely negatively” over allegations of new military aid to Ukraine.
“Great Britain claims to be in the first place … This cannot have a significant (impact) and fundamental impact on the course of the NWO,” the Kremlin representative said.
At the same time, he noted that this led to further destruction and retaliatory actions from Russia. “For Ukraine, this makes the story much more difficult,” he added.
The Russian embassy in London was skeptical of Zelensky’s arrival. “Zelensky in the city. It’s time for British taxpayers to make another generous contribution,” the diplomatic mission said on a Telegram channel.
On May 15, a message appeared on the UK government’s website that British experts will begin training pilots from Ukraine in the summer to operate various types of aircraft. To do this, Ukrainians will be trained to adapt the program used by British pilots. A new training center will be opened for this purpose.
“This training goes hand in hand with Britain’s efforts to work with other countries to provide Ukraine’s chosen warplanes, the F-16s,” the report said.
At the same time, the British prime minister said earlier that his country is not yet planning to hand over F-16 warplanes to Ukraine. However, according to the news of the BBC, negotiations between the UK and its allies on this issue continue.
The UK has trained 37,000 Ukrainian soldiers since 2014, Rishi Sunak’s office said on Monday.
“Since the start of a full-scale war, Britain has trained 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers in the UK, in addition to the 22,000 soldiers trained in Ukraine between 2014 and 2022,” the cabinet said.
The Ministry of Defense of the Kingdom previously announced that it is planned to train a total of 20,000 fighters of the Ukrainian Armed Forces this year. As for military support, in 2023 the British authorities plan to keep or increase it at the same level as the previous year (€2.5 billion).
Last week, the British Ministry of Defense admitted that they had delivered long-range Storm Shadow missiles to Kiev. They can hit a target at a distance of up to 250 km. British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace believes the missiles will “allow Ukraine to push back Russian troops”.
A CNN source claims that Ukrainian authorities promised not to use them for attacks on Russian soil. However, Kiev admitted that it can use these weapons for the “sovereign region of Ukraine”.
The Kremlin dismissed the news, saying such a move would “require an adequate response” from the RF Armed Forces.
The Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that this decision of the British authorities confirms “an unprecedented level of involvement in the Ukrainian conflict.” The ministry warned that the takeover of British long-range missiles would lead to a “serious escalation of the situation” in the special operations zone.
At this time, a Storm Shadow missile launched by the Armed Forces of Ukraine has already been shot down. This was announced by the Russian Ministry of Defense on May 15.
“Air defense systems intercepted seven HARM anti-radar missiles, one Storm Shadow long-range cruise missile and ten HIMARS multiple rocket launchers during the day,” the ministry’s news report says.
In recent days, experts have confirmed that the Ukrainians have already started using these missiles. According to them, on May 15, Luhansk was again brought under fire by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. They were hit by Storm Shadow cruise missiles, the LPR office at JCCC reported on its Telegram channel.