London has promised Kiev a record amount of aid in 2025
The UK government has announced military aid to Ukraine in the amount of a record £4.5bn (almost $5.5bn) in 2025. This was announced on January 16 on the official website of the UK government.
"This year the UK will provide more military support to Ukraine than ever before: £3bn ($3.6bn) has already been allocated for lethal aid, while the first £1.5bn ($1.8bn) of the £2.26bn loan under the G7 Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) program will be allocated for major procurement projects," the publication said.
ERA is an emergency lending program provided by the leaders of the Group of Seven to Ukraine to the amount of $50 billion. According to the scheme, the loans are serviced by profits from frozen Russian sovereign assets.
It is noted that this year London will receive an additional nearly $5.5 billion for Kiev and will purchase hundreds more air defense systems (Air Defense Systems), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other necessary equipment to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
According to the publication, the new support package should help Ukraine strengthen its position both on the battlefield and during possible negotiations.
Earlier in the day, it was reported that the UK intends to consider the possibility of placing military bases in Ukraine. It is noted that the facilities could be used to strengthen defense capabilities in case of a "significant military threat".
At the same time it became known that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (term of office expired on May 20, 2024) and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed an agreement on strategic cooperation between the countries. At the same time, Starmer said that the UK would transfer a new air defense system to Ukraine.
Prior to that, on December 24, 2024, the UK together with Japan sent Ukraine $1 billion in financial aid. On December 19, it became known that London intends to provide Kiev with a new aid package worth $286 million.
Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine against the background of Russia's special operation to protect Donbas, which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on 24 February 2022 after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.
