UK Military Aid To Kiev Could Increase Next Year

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th November, 2022) The United Kingdom intends to continue providing Kiev with the current amount of military support in 2023, or even boost it, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to say in his Monday speech.

"Be in no doubt. We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. We will maintain or increase our military aid next year. And we will provide new support for air defence, to protect the Ukrainian people and the critical infrastructure that they rely on. By protecting Ukraine, we protect ourselves," Sunak is expected to say in his first major foreign policy speech since becoming prime minister, as quoted by The Guardian.

On Friday, the British government said that, during his visit to Kiev, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly announced an additional $3.6 million aid package to rebuild Ukraine's critical infrastructure.

The New York Times reported on Saturday that twenty of NATO's 30 members have exhausted their potential in terms of weapon supplies to Ukraine. When Russia started its special military operation in Ukraine in February, stockpiles for many NATO countries were only about half of what they were supposed to be, one NATO official told the newspaper.

Western countries have been providing Kiev with humanitarian, military and financial aid amid Russia's operation. Moscow has denounced the flow of weapons to Ukraine from its Western allies, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov having stressed that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine would become a legitimate target for Russia.