British Prime Minister Sunak will announce the transfer of air defense systems and long-range drones to the army of Kiev On May 15, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in London, where he will hold talks with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The latter, as local media write with reference to the government, is ready to provide Kiev with another military assistance. In particular, it is allegedly planned to deliver drones with a range of 200 km, which is almost equivalent to the Storm Shadow missiles delivered earlier. The press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov has already noted that Moscow treats the supply of British weapons to Kiev "extremely negatively."
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is going to announce a new package of military assistance to Ukraine, which will include "hundreds of anti-aircraft missile systems" and attack drones with a range of up to 200 km, The Telegraph claims, citing the politician's office.
Sunak will allegedly announce his decision during a meeting with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. It is planned that the weapons "will be delivered in the coming months, as Ukraine is preparing to increase its resistance," the article says.
A few days earlier, it became known that the British Prime Minister will speak at the G7 summit, which will be held from May 19 to 21 in Hiroshima, for the consolidation of support provided to Ukraine.
Speaking earlier about his trip abroad, the Ukrainian politician noted that "the UK is a leader when it comes to expanding our capabilities on earth and in the sky."
The press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, said in response to the data on the alleged new military assistance to Ukraine that Moscow "treats this extremely negatively."
"The UK claims to be in the first place... This cannot have a significant (impact) and fundamental impact on the course of its own," the Kremlin representative believes.At the same time, he noted that this leads to further destruction and to retaliatory actions on the part of Russia.
"It makes this story much more difficult for Ukraine," he added.
The Russian Embassy in London was skeptical about Zelensky's arrival. "Zelensky is in town. It's time for British taxpayers to make another generous contribution," the diplomatic mission said in a Telegram channel.
On the website of the Government of the United Kingdom on May 15, a message appeared that British specialists will begin training pilots from Ukraine to use various types of aircraft in the summer. To do this, Ukrainians will be trained to adapt the program used by British pilots. A new training center will be opened for this purpose.
"This training goes hand in hand with the UK's efforts to work with other countries to provide F-16 fighter jets, which Ukraine preferred," the report adds.
At the same time, the British prime minister said earlier that his country does not plan to transfer F-16 fighters to Ukraine yet. But Britain's negotiations with its allies on this topic are continuing, the BBC reports.
Since 2014, the UK has trained 37,000 Ukrainian soldiers, Rishi Sunak's office said on Monday.
"Since the beginning of a full-scale war, the UK has also trained 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers in Britain, in addition to 22,000 military trained in Ukraine from 2014 to 2022," the Cabinet of Ministers clarified.
The Ministry of Defense of the Kingdom previously stated that this year it is planned to train a total of 20 thousand soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As for military support, in 2023 the British authorities intend to keep it at the same level as a year earlier (€2.5 billion), or increase it.
Last week, the British Ministry of Defense admitted that they had delivered long-range Storm Shadow missiles to Kiev. They can hit a target at a distance of up to 250 km. British Defense Minister Ben Wallace believes that the missiles "will allow Ukraine to push back Russian troops."
A CNN source claims that the Ukrainian authorities have promised not to use them for strikes on Russian territory. But Kiev admitted that it could use these weapons for the "sovereign territory of Ukraine."
The Kremlin took this news negatively, saying that such a step "will require an adequate response" from the Russian Armed Forces.
The Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that this decision by the British authorities confirmed "an unprecedented level of its involvement in the Ukrainian conflict." The ministry warned that the transfer of British long-range missiles would lead to a "serious escalation of the situation" in the special operation zone.
Currently, one Storm Shadow missile launched by the APU has already been shot down. This was announced on May 15 by the Russian Defense Ministry.
"By means of air defense, seven HARM anti-radar missiles, one long-range Storm Shadow cruise missile, as well as ten HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems were intercepted during the day," the agency's news summary says.
In recent days, experts have confirmed that Ukrainians have already begun to use these missiles. According to them, on May 15, Lugansk again came under fire from the AFU. They were beaten with Storm Shadow cruise missiles, the LPR representative office in the JCCC reported in the Telegram channel.
Angelina Milchenko
