LONDON — The United Kingdom has announced a £100 million contribution to strengthen Ukraine’s air defence ahead of winter, including support for Patriot missiles and other air defence equipment.
The funding will be provided through NATO’s Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), a mechanism used by NATO Allies to fund critical military equipment identified as urgent requirements for Ukraine. NATO says PURL has been used to coordinate the purchase and delivery of equipment, including air defence capabilities, from the United States.
According to the UK Ministry of Defence, the new package will also include air defence interceptors, large-calibre artillery rounds and drones. The equipment is expected to be delivered before winter to help Ukraine protect critical national infrastructure, civilians and its armed forces from Russian attacks.
Drone deliveries to increase
The UK is maintaining its commitment to provide more than 120,000 drones to Ukraine during 2026. Around 25,000 drones have already been delivered, with the pace of deliveries expected to increase in the months ahead.
The drones include several types of systems. Interceptor drones are intended to counter Russian drones, while reconnaissance drones provide battlefield awareness and information on activity behind enemy lines. Attack drones are also being supplied to support Ukrainian operations against Russian military positions.
More artillery ammunition planned
The UK also recently reached the milestone of delivering its millionth large-calibre artillery round to Ukraine. The government said it will build on this by supplying tens of thousands of long-range artillery rounds in the coming months.
Funding for these rounds is being provided by the UK together with Germany, Denmark, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.
Ukraine Defence Contact Group meets
The announcement comes as UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting co-chairs the 36th meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group with German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius.
The group brings together nearly 50 countries providing military assistance to Ukraine and focuses on Kyiv’s immediate battlefield requirements as well as longer-term military support.
Streeting said that his recent visit to Kyiv, along with the Prime Minister’s visit, highlighted the importance of supporting Ukraine through the winter. He said the new package was intended to strengthen Ukraine’s defences and reflected efforts by the UK and its allies to provide additional military capabilities.
Wider UK support
The latest package follows other recent UK measures supporting Ukraine. Britain has agreed that defence company MBDA can release classified information relating to UK components used in the SCALP, also known as Storm Shadow, to support the establishment of local assembly lines in Ukraine.
The UK and Ukraine have also signed an agreement on military artificial intelligence capabilities following the Prime Minister’s visit to Kyiv.
The new £100 million commitment adds to the wider international effort to provide Ukraine with air defence, ammunition and drones as it prepares for another winter of the war.
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