UK's Sunak to announce uplift in military support for Ukraine

Sunak's visit to Poland to meet Prime Minister Donald Tusk is his first international trip for months and is aimed at showing his restive party he is still in command before an election later this year he is widely expected to lose. Britain has long been a vocal supporter of Ukraine, and the additional funding will take London's total military aid for this financial year to 3 billion pounds, just days after the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $60 billion package.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will announce a 500 million pound ($617 million) uplift in military support for Ukraine on a visit to Poland on Tuesday, warning that Russia must be defeated to prevent its troops from pressing further into Europe. Sunak's visit to Poland to meet Prime Minister Donald Tusk is his first international trip for months and is aimed at showing his restive party he is still in command before an election later this year he is widely expected to lose.

Britain has long been a vocal supporter of Ukraine, and the additional funding will take London's total military aid for this financial year to 3 billion pounds, just days after the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $60 billion package. "Defending Ukraine against Russia's brutal ambitions is vital for our security and for all of Europe. If Putin is allowed to succeed in this war of aggression, he will not stop at the Polish border," Sunak said in a statement.

"Ukraine's armed forces continue to fight bravely, but they need our support - and they need it now. Today's package will help ensure Ukraine has what they need to take the fight to Russia," he said before the visit. Britain will also send what it described as its largest-ever single package of equipment, including 60 boats, more than 1,600 strike and air defence missiles and nearly 4 million rounds of small arms ammunition.

With Russia making some gains, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has urged countries to help Kyiv get the long-range arms and air defence systems he says are needed to turn the tide. In Poland, Sunak will meet Tusk, who as European Council president was outspoken over Britain's decision to leave the European Union, for the first time in person to discuss not only security but also deepening trade ties. ($1 = 0.8102 pounds)

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