Britain announced it was committing €116 million to boost Ukraine’s air defence capabilitie

Britain announced it was committing £100 million (€116 million) to boost Ukraine’s air defence capabilities this winter, including with Patriot missiles, Euronews reports.

The UK will also supply “air defence interceptors, large-calibre artillery rounds and drones” as part of the contribution to a NATO programme supporting Kyiv, the defence ministry said in a statement.

The Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) was established in 2022 by the US Department of Defence and NATO.

More than 20 countries have invested billions of dollars in the programme which aims to ensure a predictable flow of lethal and non-lethal support for Ukraine.

The equipment “will be delivered before the winter, helping Ukraine defend its critical national infrastructure, innocent civilians and armed forces from Russian attacks,” the ministry added.

Ukraine relies on advanced air defence systems, chiefly US Patriot interceptors, to protect its skies from Russian ballistic missile strikes.

But it has reported a shortage of Patriot interceptors since the United States and Israel went to war with Iran in February, diverting supplies.

Britain has been one of Ukraine’s biggest backers in its effort to repel Russia since the war has begun.

New UK defence minister Wes Streeting noted: “”Both the Prime Minister and I heard loud and clear on our first visits to Kyiv the importance of supporting Ukraine through this winter, as Putin prepares to use winter as a weapon by continuing barbaric attacks against civilian and energy targets’’.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the UK has committed around £25 billion to Ukraine.