UK provides air defense missiles to Ukraine paid for with interest on Russian assets
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will send 350 advanced British air defense missiles, using GBP 70 million raised through the government's Emergency Revenue Acceleration (ERA) program.
As reported by The Guardian, the move marks the first time the UK has used Russia-linked funds to directly bankroll weaponry for Kyiv. Starmer, speaking before Nato’s annual summit in The Hague, said: “Russia, not Ukraine, should pay the price for Putin’s barbaric and illegal war. It is only right we use seized Russian assets to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences. The security of Ukraine is vital to our own.”
The defense secretary, John Healey, said the missiles would save lives and were proof that the UK’s military and industrial base could adapt to the needs of modern war. He accused Moscow of continuing indiscriminate missile attacks and made clear that “Putin is not serious about peace”.
According to the publication, the missiles will be deployed through UK-supplied Raven systems – five more of which are en route to Ukraine, taking the total to 13. Originally designed as air-to-air missiles, ASRAAMs have been retrofitted by RAF engineers and MBDA UK to fire from the back of a British-made truck. The conversion took just three months.
The new package is part of the UK’s largest-ever yearly commitment to Ukraine – GBP 4.5bn in military aid. It follows a GBP 1.6bn deal in March for more than 5,000 air defense missiles and a separate GBP 350m investment to ramp up drone deliveries tenfold.
