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Britain will send 30,000 drones to Ukraine to help fight against Russian aggression, the UK government has announced.
The move comes ahead of a possible meeting in the coming weeks between US President-elect Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
The “state-of-the-art, first-person view drones” will allow Ukraine’s Armed Forces to bypass Russian air defences and “target enemy positions and armoured vehicles,” the government said.
The defence boost forms part of an international drive to ramp up efforts to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The drones will be sent following £45m worth of contracts agreed upon by the International Drone Capability Coalition, which is co-led by the UK and Latvia.
Established early last year, the coalition provides Ukraine with technology that is “indispensable” and plays “a crucial role on the battlefield,” the Ministry of Defence said. Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden are also part of the coalition.
Defence Secretary John Healey announced the drone deployment alongside Latvian Defence Minister Andris Sprūds at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting in Germany today.
Healey said: “The fierce courage of the Ukrainian people continues to inspire the world, and this meeting of more than 50 nations sends a clear message to Putin about the international community’s unwavering support for Ukraine.
“I am proud of the UK’s leadership in supporting Ukraine. From heading coalitions delivering essential equipment alongside allies to training recruits, we’re standing strong with Ukraine against Putin’s aggression.”
The news comes as Trump stated that he is arranging a meeting with the Russian president.
Trump gave no timeline for when the meeting might take place, but the Kremlin has said Putin is open to talks.
Speaking to journalists at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Trump said: “President Putin wants to meet. He has said that even publicly, and we have to get that war over with. That’s a bloody mess.”
