The British government will continue to send more weapons to Ukraine and strengthen its contribution to NATO, said British Defense Minister Ben Wallace.
The UK has already supplied Ukraine with 2,000 new lightweight anti-tank weapons (NLAWs) in addition to small weapons and ammunition.
Mr Wallace said in a speech at the House of Commons on Wednesday that Britain had increased its supply of weapons to Ukraine in response to “further aggression by Russia.”
“As of today, we have delivered 3,615 NLAWs and will continue to deliver more. Soon we will begin delivering small cargo of anti-tank Javelin missiles,” he added.
In response to Ukraine’s request, the British government is also considering donating Starstreak’s high-speed manned portable anti-aircraft missiles, Wallace told MP.
“We believe this system remains within the definition of defensive weapons, but it will allow Ukrainian troops to better protect their skies,” he said.
In light of the increase in civilian casualties, Mr Wallace said Britain would increase its funding to Ukraine to £ 220 million ($ 289 million). This includes £ 120m ($ 158m) of humanitarian aid.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said, “There is no doubt that the international community is united against his actions, and there is no doubt.”
In addition to providing direct military assistance to Ukraine, the United Kingdom will continue to strengthen NATO’s contribution to collective security, he said.
He said Britain was “gradually working to provide military support and security to its allies,” and said it was supplying “a considerable amount of air power to NATO,” including increased air patrol.
Mr Wallace added that Britain has deployed more than 1,000 British troops to prepare to support humanitarian responses in countries bordering Ukraine.
Earlier, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Congress: “We will do more in the future to work with our friends and allies in the free world to protect the people of Ukraine.”
According to the latest information from the British Ministry of Defense (MoD), Ukrainian cities continue to be bombarded, but the attack on Russia’s capital Kyiv has not made much progress.
“The fighting northwest of Kyiv is ongoing and Russian troops have been unable to make a significant breakthrough,” MoD said.
“Kharkov, Chernihiv, Smee, and Mariupol cities remain surrounded by Russian troops and suffer from heavy Russian bombardment.
“Ukrainian air defense seems to have been quite successful against modern Russian fighters, perhaps preventing them from achieving some degree of air superiority.”
PA Media contributed to this report.
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