Ukraine has secured a hefty £2.26 billion defense loan (approximately $2.84 billion) from the United Kingdom one day after being unceremoniously kicked out of the White House.
The loan, announced during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to London, is earmarked to bolster Ukraine’s military capabilities, enabling investments in critical equipment such as air defense systems and artillery.
This financial support comes on top of the UK’s existing £3 billion (approximately $3.77 billion) annual military aid to Ukraine.
The agreement was formalized during a meeting between UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Zelenskyy at Downing Street.
The new £2.26 billion is the UK’s contribution to the G7 Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) Loans to Ukraine scheme, in which $50 billion from G7 countries will be delivered to Ukraine for its military, budget and reconstruction needs. The loan will be repaid using the extraordinary profits on immobilised Russian sovereign assets.
The Chancellor Rachel Reeves made the announcement alongside Defence Secretary John Healey while visiting Ukrainian personnel who are being trained in the UK. More than 45,000 personnel have been trained in the UK under Operation INTERFLEX and the scheme has been extended to at least the end of 2025.
The UK’s £2.26 billion loan is earmarked as budgetary support for Ukraine’s military spending, enabling the Ukrainians to invest in key equipment to support their efforts against Russia, such as air defence, artillery and wider equipment support. It comes on top of the UK’s existing £3 billion a year military aid for Ukraine, which the Prime Minister re-committed to within his first week in office.
No comments:
Post a Comment