UK to allocate £500m military aid package to Ukraine

UK Prime minister Rishi Sunak is to announce a £500m military aid package to Ukraine in its war against Russia alongside the UK's largest provision of munitions so far.

Some 400 vehicles, 60 boats, 1,600 strike and air defence missiles, and four million rounds of ammunition are included in the package, Sky News reports.

The announcement comes during a downswing for Ukraine as Russian forces have been gaining the upper hand in recent weeks.

Moscow took the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka on 17 February and has been progressing ever since, occupying other villages.

The prime minister will travel to Poland on April 23 to make the announcement, which takes the UK to £3bn in military aid to Ukraine this financial year.

Mr Sunak said: "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.

"Ukraine's armed forces continue to fight bravely, but they need our support - and they need it now."

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps reiterated the UK was "the first" to provide NLAW anti-tank missiles, modern tanks and long-range missiles to Ukraine.

Last month, Russia launched an airstrike into Ukraine's western region of Lviv, near Poland's border, which saw one cruise missile briefly fly into Polish airspace, according to Warsaw.