What would a Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting be without a new aggressive British announcement to rapidly escalate the war against Russia? The U.K. Ministry of Defense chimed in this morning that Defense Secretary John Healey would be announcing in Ramstein that the U.K. would be supplying 650 Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM) systems to Ukraine “to boost the country’s air defense capabilities, as part of the new government’s commitment to Ukraine.”
“In keeping with the new government’s commitment to speed up deliveries of aid, the first batch of LMM missiles announced today are also expected to be delivered by the end of this year,” the Defense Ministry statement says. “Today’s package is part of the U.K.’s work to help step up U.K. and European defense production—with today’s £162 million order helping to energize the supply chain for the future”—as opposed to energizing diplomatic efforts to avoid a thermonuclear war. “Built by Thales at their Belfast factory, the missiles are highly versatile and can be fired from a variety of platforms on land, sea, and air.” It adds that the new package is primarily funded through the U.K.’s £3 billion/year financial package for Ukraine, along with contributions from Norway through the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU). The LMM is a battlefield weapon that carries a 3 kg warhead to a range of about 8 km.
On Sept. 3, Healey hosted Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov in London to discuss “work to accelerate the delivery of the U.K.’s military support for Ukraine,” stated London’s Defense Ministry. Umerov’s visit came “after the Prime Minister announced the IFU’s largest ever support package at the NATO Summit in July, with a £300 million contract to supply 152mm artillery shells to supply Ukraine’s Soviet-era guns. He also confirmed £3 billion of U.K. aid for Ukraine per year for as long as it takes,” the statement added. “The Defense Secretary confirmed today the £300 million contract has now been signed and is expected to deliver thousands of shells before the end of the year—providing a significant boost for Ukraine’s stockpiles and aligning with the government’s acceleration of military support deliveries.”
