On Monday (June 2), the government approved an independently-created Strategic Defence Review that advocates for a more lethal, technology-oriented military to address emerging threats, including potential aggression from Russia.
As one of Ukraine’s key supporters in the West, Britain aims to gather insights from Kyiv’s over three-year battle against the Russian invasion, where drones have played a pivotal role on the battlefield.
Read more: At least 700,000 people in Russian-occupied Ukraine are without power following Ukrainian strikes, officials report
The drone package, valued at 350 million pounds ($473 million), is part of a larger 4.5 billion pound military aid initiative for Ukraine, according to the government.
Defence Secretary John Healey is set to announce this at a 50-nation Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting in Brussels, co-hosted with Germany.
“The UK is enhancing its support for Ukraine by providing hundreds of thousands of additional drones this year and reaching a significant milestone in the delivery of essential artillery ammunition,” Healey stated ahead of the meeting.
Besides the drone shipments, Britain confirmed that it has delivered 140,000 artillery shells to Ukraine since January and plans to allocate an additional 247 million pounds this year for training Ukrainian forces.
Read more: NATO’S Baltic drills are part of preparations for a possible confrontation with Russia, TASS reports
