On February 12, British Defense Secretary John Healey co-chaired the 33rd meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Liaison Group (UDCG) to announce a package of missile aid and new air defense systems worth more than 745 million USD.
For the first time, the UK will contribute about 223 million USD to the Ukrainian Priority Requests Index (PURL) initiative initiated by NATO, to ensure a rapid supply of interceptor missiles to protect the Ukrainian airspace.
The PURL initiative plays a role as a mechanism for NATO to coordinate the purchase of leading defense equipment from the US for Ukraine. At the same time, the UK is also preparing to hand over an additional 1,000 Lightweight Multipurpose (LMM) missiles manufactured in Belfast. This is a key weapon to protect Ukrainian cities and essential infrastructure from increasing drone and missile attacks.
This multi-million USD agreement is based on the increasingly deep cooperation between the British and Ukrainian defense industries. The goal is to transfer production lines and technical support for Rapid Ranger launchers and direct command and control vehicles to Ukrainian territory.
In the coming months, Britain is expected to transfer an additional 1,200 anti-aircraft missiles and 200,000 artillery shells through the Air Defense Coalition (ADC). Defense Secretary John Healey affirmed: "As the 5th year of the conflict enters, Britain and its allies are committed to supporting Ukraine more strongly than ever to counter unremitting attacks.
The UDCG meeting with the participation of 50 countries this time is co-chaired by the UK and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. The event was also attended by Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles. The parties will focus on discussing Ukraine's key military needs in 2026 and planning to remedy existing equipment gaps.
Since last year, Britain has stepped up its leading role in the Ukrainian Defense Liaison Group along with Germany. Both the British Prime Minister and the British Defense Minister affirmed a consistent view that UK national security begins with ensuring security for Ukraine.
