Britain will provide an additional £500 million ($625 million) in urgent air defense assistance to Ukraine, UK Defence Secretary John Healey announced ahead of a NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels on 12 February.
"Today at noon I will confirm that the UK is providing an additional half a billion pounds for urgent air defence to Ukraine," Healey said, according to European pravda's correspondent in Brussels.
The defence secretary framed Britain's participation in joint NATO projects and support for Ukraine as "evidence that Britain is a force for good in the world, building a new European security deal within NATO."
"I am proud of the British Armed Forces, I am proud of Britain's leadership, I am proud of Britain's commitment to our allies. We will support you, we will defend you, we will fight with you in this new era of threats and brute force," Healey said.
The announcement comes as Britain also committed to the United States' PURL initiative for weapons procurement for Ukraine, with an initial contribution of $205 million, as reported by European Pravda on 12 February.
At NATO defence ministers meeting in Brussels on 12 February, the United States expects alliance members to announce new purchases of American weapons for Ukraine through the PURL initiative.
Alona Hetmanchuk, head of Ukraine's diplomatic mission to NATO, identified the countries that have provided Ukraine with the largest assistance in procuring critically needed American weapons, including air defense systems.
