At the Copenhagen Conference today, the UK and a coalition of key
allies and partners have agreed to expand the International Fund
for Ukraine (IFU) to finance military training and equipment for
Ukraine to help the country free itself from Russia’s invasion.
Britain will put £250 million of the recently announced £1
billion into the IFU, a flexible low-bureaucracy fund,
which will used to provide military equipment and other support
to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). The fund will ensure a
steady flow of money not just for the provision of vital new
weapons, but the essential maintenance and repair of existing
kit, and training to maximise the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s
effectiveness on the battlefield.
Defence Secretary met counterparts from fellow co-hosts Denmark and
Ukraine in Copenhagen, along with representatives from other
partner nations, to put together a plan for long-term military
support for Ukraine.
Defence Secretary said:
This conference sends a clear message to Russia. We will not tire
and we will stand by Ukraine today, tomorrow and in the months to
come.
The UK and partner nations have agreed to provide long-term
military funding, ensuring a steady flow of finance to provide
vital military equipment, essential maintenance of existing kit
and maximising our UK-led international training programme for
Ukraine’s Armed Forces.
The allies also discussed how to evolve their support for the
training of Ukrainian military personnel, including offers for
expanding and coordinating the international training scheme
begun by the UK.
Britain has so far trained more than 2,300 Ukrainian personnel in
the UK under a training programme announced in June. Canada,
Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Germany and Latvia have
announced they will be joining the initiative, after the
Netherlands previously announced its intention to support the
scheme.
It comes after the UK announced it would send
additional multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) launchers,
along with a significant number of precision guided rockets to
help Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s indiscriminate use of
artillery.
