UK Pledges Military Aid to Ukraine

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meets soldiers stationed in Poland accompanied by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, with the UK leader on a diplomatic visit to Warsaw for talks that will focus on Ukraine and wider European security.

Sunak's visit to Eastern Europe accompanied by defense minister Grant Shapps comes as Kyiv pleads with allies to ramp up supplies of ammunition and air defenses desperately needed to repel Russian attacks.

UK leader Rishi Sunak arrived in Warsaw for talks with Polish premier Donald Tusk and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg that will focus on Ukraine and wider European security.

While in Poland's capital, the British prime minister will announce $617 million in additional military funding for Kyiv in its more-than two-year battle against Russia's full-scale invasion, his Downing Street office said in a statement.

"On Ukraine Today, we go further. We will send Ukraine an additional half a billion pounds, hitting three billion pounds of support this year. And we will provide them with the largest ever package of UK military equipment. This will include more than 400 vehicles, four million rounds of ammunition, 60 boats in Offshore Raiding Craft, vital air defenses and long-range precision-guided Storm Shadow missiles," said Rishi Sunak, British Prime Minister.

 Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary-General said "On Sunak to raise defense spending, Allies agreed at our summit in Vilnius last year that two percent is a minimum. And once again, the UK is leading by example."

Sunak's visit to Eastern Europe comes as Kyiv pleads with allies to ramp up supplies of ammunition and air defenses desperately needed to repel Russian attacks.

US lawmakers eased the pressure last weekend by unblocking a $61-billion military aid package for Kyiv following six months of political wrangling.