UK expands Ukraine military support on 1,000th day of war as more Ukrainians trained in British soil

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - The UK expanded its military support to Kyiv with an additional £7.5 million ($9.50 million) in military aid, the defense secretary said on Tuesday, which marks the 1,000th day since Russia's war on Ukraine launched in 2022.

Speaking at a parliamentary session, John Healey announced the funding for new attack and surveillance drones.

He said it will be invested through the drone coalition led by the UK and Latvia and drawn from the £3 billion annual funding pool.

Healey also confirmed that the number of Ukrainian recruits trained on British soil under Operation Interflex has passed 50,000.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK's support, both military and non-military, will be higher this financial year than in any previous year since the war began.

Saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin has "no interest in a just peace," he claimed the war is "costing Putin dearly."

Lammy also confirmed that the parliament will debate the second reading of the Financial Assistance to Ukraine Bill, which will confirm the UK’s £2.26 billion loan to Ukraine for further military equipment as part of the G7 Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) Loans to Ukraine scheme.