The UK will spend nearly $270 million on equipping troops it plans to deploy in Ukraine after a ceasefire is reached, Defense Secretary John Healey announced during a trip to Kiev on Friday.
Russia has repeatedly said it would not allow Western soldiers to be stationed in Ukraine and has warned that it would treat foreign troops as legitimate targets.
Nevertheless, UK Defense Secretary John Healey said the funds would be invested in units intended to form part of a multinational force aimed at providing “long-term security guarantees” to Ukraine.
“We are surging investment into our preparations following the prime minister’s announcement this week, ensuring that Britain’s Armed Forces are ready to deploy and lead the Multinational Force Ukraine, because a secure Ukraine means a secure UK,” Healey said.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Denis Shmigal said after the meeting that the UK would begin producing 1,000 Octopus interceptor drones per month in February and deliver them to Ukraine.
Despite their continued support for military aid, some European countries, including Germany and Italy, have refused to commit boots on the ground in Ukraine. NATO members Hungary and Slovakia have declined to send weapons to Kiev, urging the West to focus on diplomacy instead. The US, which has been attempting to mediate a truce between Russia and Ukraine, has also ruled out sending American soldiers to the country.
The Russian Foreign Ministry reiterated on Thursday that Moscow would treat “the stationing of military units, sites, depots and other Western infrastructure in Ukraine as a foreign intervention posing a direct threat to Russia’s security.”
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