The UK will be the first country to supply Ukraine with long-range weapons, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said at the Munich Security Conference.
We must help Ukraine protect its cities from Russian bombs and Iranian drones,” the government leader said in London. He joined the U.S. in denouncing Russia’s “egregious war crimes.”
“Ukraine needs more artillery, tanks, and air defenses to win the war. So now is the time to double our military support. And Britain will be the first country to supply Ukraine with long-range weapons,” Sunak said, according to skynews.com.
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky met with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak earlier this month and delivered a speech in London’s parliament calling on Britain to supply Ukraine with aircraft to fight Russia.
Last year, London provided 2.3 billion pounds worth of military aid to Kiyv, and the government has pledged to maintain that level this year, making it second only to the U.S. in the world in that regard.
London was supplying lethal weapons to the Ukrainian army even before the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24 last year.
In January, it became the first country to announce it was sending heavy tanks – 14 Challenger 2s – followed by Germany with Leopard and the U.S. with Abrams tanks.