UK will provide Kyiv with £3bn a year in military aid 'for as long as it takes', Starmer tells Zelenskiy
The Guardian|July 11, 2024
The new government will stick with plans to spend at least £3bn every year on military support for Ukraine for "as long as it takes" in its conflict with Russia, Keir Starmer has said.
Pippa Crerar, Dan Sabbagh
UK will provide Kyiv with £3bn a year in military aid 'for as long as it takes', Starmer tells Zelenskiy

After his first official bilateral talks with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, at the Nato summit in Washington, the prime minister confirmed the military aid would continue until at least 2030-31.

The UK has to date pledged £12.5bn in support to Ukraine since February 2022, of which £7.6bn is for military assistance and the rest for humanitarian and economic support.

In his talks with Zelenskiy, Starmer said that Ukraine was on an "irreversible" path to Nato membership. However, diplomats at the Nato summit said that setting out any firm timetable would be a gift to Vladimir Putin.

Today, the prime minister will tell his fellow leaders: "Nato was founded by the generation who defeated fascism. They understood not just the value of our strength, but the strength of our values.

"Those values are under attack once again. Putin needs to hear a clear message ringing out from this summit - a message of unity and determination, that we will support Ukraine with whatever it takes, for as long as it takes to uphold our shared values and our shared security."

British officials have said that while the possible return to the White House of Donald Trump, whose continued backing for Nato and Ukraine is unclear, is at the back of their minds, their focus is on getting the alliance into the best possible shape for whoever wins the US election.

This story is from the July 11, 2024 edition of The Guardian.

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This story is from the July 11, 2024 edition of The Guardian.

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