The UK's commitment to European security was reaffirmed by
Defence Minister Minto on a visit to Bulgaria today.
Attending the Black Sea Security Conference in Sofia alongside
allies and partners, Minto represented the UK - a leading partner
for Ukraine and other Black Sea states.
The conference was convened to promote cooperation and military
capacity building in the face of Russia's continued threat to
stability in the Black Sea region. The conference aims to enhance
the collaboration between the Black Sea states and partners in
response to Putin's aggression and illegal invasion of Ukraine.
The UK's leadership of the Maritime Capability Coalition,
announced by UK Defence Secretary in December 2023, was
discussed during the conference as a means to grow Ukraine's
maritime capability now and in the long term.
Defence Minister, The said:
One of many things that the UK and Bulgaria have in common is our
steadfast support to Ukraine in the face of Putin's barbaric
invasion.
The UK and our allies and partners will continue to work together
to give Ukraine what they need to defeat Russia and restore peace
and security to the Black Sea region.
The UK's commitment to modernise Ukraine's Navy is demonstrated
by the transfer of two former Royal Navy vessels to Ukraine,
which arrived in Portsmouth last week.
In addition to maritime support, the Minister also set out the
extensive package of military aid that the UK has provided to
Ukraine to date, including £7 billion of funding, training of
over 60,000 Ukrainian recruits, and donation of thousands of
pieces of equipment to date.
The need to continue to back Ukraine to ensure they defeat Putin
to restore peace and security in Europe was highlighted during
the conference, which was attended by Ukrainian representatives.
While standing with Ukraine, the UK continues to support regional
security, deploying Typhoons to Romania at the start of the month
to conduct NATO Air Policing patrols, keeping the skies in the
Black Sea region safe. Separately, thousands of UK Armed Forces
are deploying on NATO Exercise Steadfast Defender across Europe
this year.
While in Sofia, the Minister met Bulgarian Defence Minister
Atanas Zapryanov, to discuss shared security challenges and
defence priorities. The Minister also met Ukrainian Deputy
Foreign Minister, Tochytskyi Mykola.
