Lord Cameron visits Kyiv in show of 'unequivocal support' for Ukraine

Lord David Cameron met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv and announced that the UK will be sending more weapons to Ukraine.

The foreign secretary reiterated the UK’s "unequivocal support" for Ukraine and committed to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence, and at least £3 billion a year on military support.

The government will donate precision-guided bombs, air defence missiles and equipment for 100 mobile air defence teams.

The former prime minister also promised to make more weapons in the UK, pledging to invest £10 billion over the next 10 years.

He confirmed a £36 million package of support, including £20 million in new emergency funding following Russia’s recent attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure.

Speaking from Kyiv, Lord Cameron said Ukraine’s war with Russia is "the challenge of our generation".

"Ukraine is fiercely defending itself against Russia’s illegal invasion, making a war Putin thought would last days, take years," he said.

"But this war is the challenge of our generation and Ukraine cannot fight it alone.

"We must all step up to ensure Ukraine has what it needs to win.

"Through our multi-year military funding, weapons provision and vital support to protect and repair Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, the UK is standing with Ukraine and we will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes."

It has been more than two years since Russia launched a military invasion of Ukraine in a steep escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War.

The announcement of fresh military support comes as Ukrainian soldiers on the front line are reportedly using ammunition sparingly amid "unpredictable" Russian attacks.

A Ukrainian commander near the Donetsk region said the number of shells fired daily was sometimes in single digits.

Earlier this week, Lord Cameron defended his legacy as prime minister after it was suggested the UK’s defence has been "hollowed out" during his time in power.

As the foreign secretary took questions from peers, former chief of the defence staff Lord Houghton of Richmond asked the cabinet minister whether he could have invested more in defence during his time in office.

Lord Cameron disagreed that bigger defence commitments by the UK and other European nations throughout the 2010s would have made a difference to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

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