Defense News
PARIS — The U.K. placed an order worth as much as £1.6 billion ($2 billion) with Thales to supply more than 5,000 air defense missiles for Ukraine, the government said.
The Defence Equipment & Support department of the British Ministry of Defence placed the order for the Thales-made Lightweight Multirole Missile on behalf of the Ukrainian government, it said in a statement on Monday. The order follows an announcement by Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday following a meeting of European leaders in London to discuss support for Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been requesting more air defense for his country for months, as Russia targets Ukraine’s civilian population as well as its energy infrastructure with everything from suicide drones to ballistic missiles.
Continuing and increasing supply and support of Western air-defense systems is critical in the face of Russian plans to ramp up production of missiles and attack drones, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies
“This new support will help protect Ukraine against drone and missile attacks but it will also help deter further Russian aggression following any end to the fighting,” Defence Secretary John Healey said in a statement.
