PRESS RELEASE : UK joins international partners in delivering air defence equipment to Ukraine [June 2023]

• A major new fund announced today will deliver hundreds of vital air defence missiles.
• Result of a partnership between Denmark, the Netherlands, the UK and the USA.
• Announcement comes on the eve of the Defence Secretary discussing the future of NATO at a meeting of Alliance defence ministers in Brussels.

The UK will contribute to the rapid delivery of a significant package of vital air defence equipment for Ukraine, working alongside international partners, the Defence Secretary has announced today.

The announcement was made today by the defence ministries of Denmark, the Netherlands, the UK and the USA, during a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG). The UDCG brings together some 50 nations providing a variety of military support to Ukraine.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:

Working with our international partners we are able to provide vital air defence equipment, which will help Ukraine support offensive operations and protect critical national infrastructure.

Hundreds of short and medium range air defence systems will be procured via the fund. Delivery of the equipment has already begun and is expected to be completed within weeks. The package consists largely of Soviet-era missiles, supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s most pressing needs for systems to support offensive operations and protect critical national infrastructure.

As well as attending the UDCG, the Defence Secretary will also be attending a meeting of NATO defence ministers at NATO HQ, Brussels, ahead of next month’s summit of the Alliance’s leaders in Vilnius. The Defence Secretary will reiterate the UK’s ambition for Sweden’s accession to the Alliance to be ratified ahead of the NATO Leaders’ Vilnius summit.

Ministers will also discuss changes to NATO’s military structures, strengthening ties with defence industry, and making sure the Alliance has the resources it needs to tackle threats across all domains – laying the groundwork for the biggest transformation of NATO for decades.

Funding for air defences is the latest UK support for Ukraine to be announced, following the recent delivery of long-range Storm Shadow missiles, and the announcement from the Prime Minister last week that the UK is donating other air defence systems and long range attack drones.

Earlier this week, the Defence Secretary met his Joint Expeditionary Force counterparts in Amsterdam, and announced that the UK will commit a further £250 million to the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU), as well as a new package of vital air defence capabilities worth £92 million. The equipment will be procured in the coming months through the IFU to bolster Ukraine’s ability to protect its critical national infrastructure, civilian population, and front-line personnel. The package will provide radars to help protect from indiscriminate Russian strikes as well as guns and a significant amount of ammunition. Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland and Lithuania have all contributed to the fund.

Other recent support for Ukraine has included the granting of Challenger 2 main battle tanks, armoured vehicles, and self-propelled guns, as well as running training programmes for Ukrainian infantry, marines, and pilots.