Okayed by the G7 meeting in Evian (France) earlier this week, the British Ministry of Defense announced yesterday its intent to provide 150,000 Ukrainian-produced drones and over 350 air defence missiles and radars, with the required funds in the range of 750 million pounds sterling coming from an Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) loan. The announcement itself came in the context of a meeting in Brussels of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, co chaired by new UK Defense Minister Dan Jarvis and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
The announcement comes as Ukraine’s acting president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, issued his 7-day ultimatum to Belarus - action that undoubtedly would center upon drone attacks. Such UK support for increased supplies of drones is inevitably linked with Zelenskyy’s aggressive behavior.
The UK also informed that Britain is taking command of the Multinational Force for Ukraine Headquarters (MNF-U). Major General Tom Bateman will assume command next month, in the rank of Lieutenant General, leading the multinational team responsible for coordinating support to Ukraine and helping prepare for the long-term regeneration of Ukraine’s Armed Forces in the event of a peace deal.
Major General Bateman’s most recent role was as Standing Joint Force Commander, where he has been responsible for leading MNF-U planning on recovery and regeneration of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, working closely with counterparts in Ukraine, France, and nations in the MNF-U.
