The UK plans to increase aid to Ukraine in 2024
7 December, 2023 Ukrainian military personnel during exercises in Great Britain. Photo credits: General Staff of the Armed Forces The UK Ministry of Defense promises to increase aid to Ukraine in 2024.
Ukrinform reported on this. The statement was made by Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Defense of the United Kingdom. He emphasized the importance of financial and military assistance to Ukraine in 2024 to counter Russian aggression.
In 2024, the amount of aid will be increased, along with the number of servicemen who will be able to undergo military training known as Operation Interflex.
Ukrainian soldiers on a Challenger 2 tank. Photo credits: The Times
Romania will also join the training of the Ukrainian military, which will increase the total number of trained personnel.
"We will also be increasing our ground force training efforts, with Romania joining as the eleventh member of our Operation Interflex. And that's why last month, I announced a major additional aid package for Ukraine worth over GBP100 million," Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Defense, shared.
According to him, since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the UK government has allocated GBP4.6 billion to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Additionally, the Ministry of Defense will provide Ukraine with air defense systems, bridge equipment, and mine clearance systems. As part of Operation Interflex, the UK managed to train 30,000 Ukrainian servicemen from June 2022 to November 2023.
Training of Ukrainian servicemen as part of Operation Interflex in the United Kingdom. Photo credits: MoD UK
To support the participants in this global program, the Ministry of Defense's procurement department purchased all the necessary equipment to equip them and conduct training to improve their combat capabilities.
Besides, an additional line of business was created to conduct medical courses. Moreover, the Ministry of Defense has allocated an additional aid package, which includes:
- 82,000+ helmets;
- 25,000+ sets of winter clothing;
- 10,000+ sets of body armor;
- 70,000+ MREs.
As noted, this is the largest-scale exercise of foreign troops on the territory of the United Kingdom since World War II.
Slides with the amount of assistance provided. Photo credits: UK MoD
Militarnyi previously reported that British farmers have donated more than 35 off-road vehicles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The vehicles included such models as the Mitsubishi L200, Toyota Hilux, Nissan X-Trail, Land Rover Defender, etc.
According to Maksym Kozytskyi, the vehicles were transferred to the Air Command "West" of the Air Force of Ukraine, the 24th Mechanized Brigade, the 125th Territorial Defense Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the 150th Brigade, and other formations.