UK to announce maritime security guarantees for Ukraine as part of 10-year program
This 10-year program provides for the strengthening of Ukraine’s maritime defense, including air and land capabilities
In the coming days, the United Kingdom is to announce its commitments to support Ukraine’s maritime security as part of a 10-year defense enhancement program.
It is a so-called memorandum that will cover “military support focused on naval assets, financial support and intelligence sharing,” the British Telegraph writes on the basis of information obtained from its own sources.
It is noted that long-term support means providing guarantees of assistance in case of a repeated attack by the Russian Federation. It is part of the G7 countries’ overall commitment to long-term support for Ukraine’s defense capabilities, which was adopted during the NATO summit in Vilnius in early 2023.
The sources of the publication refused to provide any specifics about the weapons, but said that it was a complex supply of weapons with ground and air assets. Such supplies should allow the Armed Forces to become “interoperable” with NATO. In addition, the Interflex program to train the Ukrainian military will continue.
At the same time, the Telegraph notes that the British program, as well as the commitments of the G7 countries in general, is a solution to replace Ukraine’s accession to NATO. A source close to these talks said that Ukraine is to receive weapons worth a total of 20 billion euros over the next four years from these seven countries.
One of the areas of effort is to “strengthen cooperation between the Western and Ukrainian defense industries,” which will allow Ukraine to produce more weapons to NATO standards. It also touches on the ongoing exchange of intelligence and funding for demining after the war.
It should be noted that the UK is already providing direct support to Ukraine in the area of naval forces. In particular, back in August 2021, London announced the transfer to Ukraine of two Sandown-class minesweepers, which were withdrawn from the British fleet and, after being restored in September 2022, joined the Ukrainian Navy under the names Cherkasy and Chernihiv.
But the fact is that the transfer of these ships is part of the implementation of the memorandum on the implementation of maritime partnership projects between the UK and Ukraine, which was signed in June 2022. In addition to the minesweepers, six missile cassettes were to be ordered under the British loan.
Last year, the Ukrainian Armed Forces were also reinforced with three British Sea King helicopters, which were retired from the Royal Navy in 2016 and are intended for search and rescue operations.
Thus, if we are talking about a much larger and longer 10-year program, the number of weapons to be transferred to Ukraine should be higher.
