A new internationally funded package of military support for Ukraine was announced by UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps on 11 October 2023.
The new package, which is worth more than GBP 100 M (EUR 115.9 M), is designed to help Ukraine’s armed forces clear minefields, maintain their vehicles, and shore up defensive fortifications to protect critical national infrastructure.
The support package, which will be provided using money from the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU), was jointly announced by Shapps and his counterparts from the IFU partner nations at a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
It comes as the final contract from the previously announced IFU package of air defence capability was signed, which will see more than GBP 70 M of capabilities provided to Ukraine – including the MSI-DS Terrahawk Paladin: a palletised hard-kill counter-uncrewed aerial vehicle system that can be used to protect critical national infrastructure.
The UK and Denmark launched the IFU in 2022 and the UK engages closely with Ukraine to procure capability that best meets the needs of its armed forces. Since then, five other nations have contributed to the IFU: Iceland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. To date, GBP 785 M has been raised through the IFU.
“Ukraine is now the most mined country on earth, which has provided the biggest obstacle in the path of Ukraine’s counter-offensive this year and mine-clearing capabilities will be essential to the armed forces of Ukraine in pushing forward,” the UK MoD noted in a press release.
“Equipment from both the air defence package and mobility support package will arrive in the coming months, joining other IFU-funded equipment already in Ukraine, including around 100 uncrewed aerial systems.”
