The UK Government has announced a new package of military, humanitarian and reconstruction support for Ukraine, marking four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is convening a meeting of the so-called Coalition of the Willing alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, following their January declaration with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signalling the UK’s intent to deploy British troops to Ukraine once peace is secured. A 70-person headquarters for the proposed Multinational Force for Ukraine is already operational, backed by £200 million in funding.
In Kyiv, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is expected to condemn what she described as Russia’s campaign of “Russification” in temporarily occupied territories, including the forced adoption of Russian passports and suppression of Ukrainian language and media.
On the anniversary, Keir Starmer said: “On this grim anniversary, our message to the Ukrainian people is simple: Britain is with you, stronger than ever. That is why we are announcing new support today and we will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes.” He added: “Russia is not winning this war. They will not win this war. Ukraine’s courage continues to hold the line for our shared values, in the face of Putin’s aggression.”
The latest package includes £20 million in emergency energy funding to repair and protect Ukraine’s power grid, bringing total UK energy support since 2022 to more than £490 million. A further £5.7 million will be directed towards humanitarian assistance for frontline communities and those displaced by the conflict.
The UK will also expand medical mentoring for Ukrainian clinicians, with British military surgeons, nurses and physiotherapists continuing to advise on complex battlefield trauma care. Ukrainian pilots are now training at a UK air base to become helicopter flying instructors, marking the first time Britain has provided rotary-wing instructor training to Ukraine.
Yvette Cooper said: “Today I am shining a light on Russia’s disgraceful attempts to erase the Ukrainian identity, in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.” She added that “Russia can and must end this war. The UK will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes to achieve a just and lasting peace.”
Defence Secretary John Healey said: “Four years after Putin launched his war to wipe Ukraine as a sovereign nation off the map, the UK is more determined than ever to stand strong with Ukraine.” He added: “I am determined that we make 2026 the year this brutal war ends.”
Wow, a whole 25 million and a speech from dear Mrs Balls.
2022 to more than £490 million
The headline was fresh package not re-re-re-announcing old stuff.
Yup, and that’s just for Energy Help. 👌
Any chance of UK announcing an aid package for UK forces to avoid more damaging cuts?
Whilst at the same time promising our forces as part of the coalition of the willing…you couldn’t make it up.
Fools errand going into Ukraine. What happens on the first patrol when the lead vehicle rolls over a mine and the driver loses his legs? Whats the actual benefit of us being there? 7500 soldiers and a front of 1000 kilometres. Its just the usual willy waving from our shitty leaders.
I’d support it if we had a larger and better equipped military.
Agree. The grandstanding and need to be seen to be a big player overrides the realities of our force structures to enable such.
When i was doing Iraq and Afghan we were at 100k regular troops. We were running hot then with 10k in Afghan and 7.5k in Iraq.
Now we’re meant to do this with everything else going on like Cabrit. How long for? Whats the mission actually going to be?
I was there when my friends died for a pointless war. Its easy to get into, much harder to get out of.
Ironic really that the left who ‘don’t like military and war’ are actually the ones sending troops into war….Blair was constantly at war….Camerloon only had his Libyan truncated adventure. Doris @ No 10 only did a Churchill impression for UKR. None of Maybot, Lettuce or Sunak got stuck into war as far as I can recall.
But now we have Mr U Turn as PM he is busily promising our few troops to a new risky mission at the same time as not funding the military. Obvs Rachel has been briefed on doing that by Brown.
Hang on…….could that mean we will be due some huge ships to be ordered in a Labour constituency soon……that is the next logical progression for this?
“we will be due some huge ships to be ordered in a Labour constituency soon……that is the next logical progression for this?”
We’d take it, despite the insincere grounds for ordering them.
It redefines Brownian motion as
‘The movement of money from necessity to political expediency in the name of prudence’.
🤡
I agree, it’s just virtue signalling from Starmer.
Meanwhile, Torygraph, but you never know.
Intelligence agencies from throughout NATO are warning of Russian individuals and companies buying up real estate, from entire islands to individual buildings, close to varied NATO industrial, economic, and military targets.
Suspected as being launch pads for grey zone ops, flying Drones, conducting sabotage, intelligence gathering, storing kit, and so on.
One island in Finland had piers, heli pads, and other infrastructure built.
Detail on any Brit linked sites was sketchy obviously but included properties near SIS, the US embassy, property along the Clyde close to Faslane, and property in Cyprus close to the SBAs.
Some nations, like those closer to Russia, are taking a harder line while others, not so much.
I hope our intelligence community is all over this and twisting the arms of the imbeciles in government to take countermeasures.
I wouldn’t hold my breath on this.
It has been quite obviously an issue for quite a while – there are an awful lot of Russian owned properties that are ‘parked’ with little visible use. OK some of them are parked as bolt holes or assets abroad for a rainy day but others of them are in strange places, that is unless you happen to know what else if there and then they make a lot more sense.
Please invest in UK Land Forces soon ( sarc ) Threats? Internal and external. Islamist extremists, sleepers from God knows how many enemies and forces stretched to the limit. DIP? No sign the commies will even commit to it let alone allocate money, £6 billion promised for SEND, more welfarism and socialist free stuff for anybody with a bad back, PTSD or a limp.
Politicians = scum.
You know my views…
PTSD is a valid one though, mate, as long it is an emergency worker or military veteran suffering for real. So many ex SF ended up killing themselves or attacking others, don’t know if the support system has improved here these days?
Daniele I agree on PTSD, didn’t mean to sound flippant about it. I worked in mental health for a long time, I just feel it is over diagnosed. A combination of professional and self diagnosis for other maladies imho. It can be an easy route to PIP and disability payments. The genuine guys suffer because of that, part of the welfarism culture that sees genuine sufferers omitted because of abuse by others.
Yeah, we share many similar views on other things.
There’s a spectrum isn’t there? Famously there was Will Young with his celebrity PTSD and then there’s PTSD from actual combat and death in the name of your government. Probably the difference is that one person can afford effective treatment and one person can’t.
Truth that. Since the demise of military hospitals veteran/service folk are dependent on one cap fits all NHS “services”. Part of the breaking up of what we used to call the military covenant. That blame belongs with politicians of all shades, and a population who vote for the same repeatedly.
When they bleat “the Russians are coming”? It will fall on deaf ears
Veterans are apparently eligible for priority NHS access if the condition is related to their service, I have to emphasise that.
Good point John. What many civvies (and most politicians) did not seem to know was that it was MoD (agreed with the NHS) policy for 40% of patients in military hospitals to be from the civilian population (a fraction of whom might have been veterans). My wife worked at the military hospital in Aldershot.
Closing the service hospitals in the 90s added a significant burden to the NHS in certain areas of the country.
Mate, I assure you, I got you first time. Just thought I’d add some balance for the benefit of those here waiting to pounce on supposed evidence that we’re all uncaring facists.
Any row as long as it’s not defence…
We’re not. Yes, it’s abused, as is the welfare system in general.
There are also those who need welfare, like the disabled.
coalition of the numpties more like, virtually all of them are deeply unpopular with their electorates, therein lies the danger !
My God this is just so sad… Virtue signaling at the lowest level
What an embarrassing press release
Total gaslighting, and not even clever.
Which budget is this package coming out of? The Defence Vote? FCDO? Treasury Contingency Fund? Don’t tell me. I can guess.
I am all for helping Ukraine, in fact I fully support support it. BUT STOP TAKING IT FROM THE DEFENCE BUDGET!!
Perhaps ENATO should consider actually utilizing some of the €300+Bn in frozen RU central bank funds. The Belgians are concerned about a potential financial liability, if Mad Vlad successfully sues to recover assets. What court would possibly find in favor of the Orcs? 🤔
Probably a Belgian one, I shouldn’t wonder…