UK sends 30,000 ‘state-of-the-art’ drones to Ukraine

The UK Government will send 30,000 drones to Ukraine to help fight against Russian aggression as US President-elect Donald Trump is preparing to meet with Russian leader Valdimir Putin.

The “state-of-the-art, first-person view drones” will allow Ukraine’s Armed Forces to move past Russian air defences and “target enemy positions and armoured vehicles”, the government said.

The defence boost forms part of an international drive to ramp up efforts to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Drones will be sent after £45m worth of contracts were agreed by the International Drone Capability Coalition, which is co-led by the UK and Latvia.

Established early last year, the coalition provides Ukraine with the technology, which is “indispensable" and plays “a crucial role on the battlefield”, the Ministry of Defence said. Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden are also part of the coalition.

Defence secretary John Healey announced the drone deployment alongside Latvian Defence Minister Andris Sprūds at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting at Germany today.

Healey said: “The fierce courage of the Ukrainian people continues to inspire the world, and this meeting of more than 50 nations sends a clear message to Putin about the international community’s unwavering support for Ukraine.

“I am proud of the UK’s leadership in supporting Ukraine. From heading coalitions which are delivering essential equipment alongside allies, to training recruits, we’re standing strong with Ukraine against Putin’s aggression.”

The news comes as Trump said that he is arranging a meeting with the Russian president.

Trump gave no timeline on when the meeting might take place but the Kremlin has said Putin is open to talks.

Speaking to journalists at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Trump said: "President Putin wants to meet. He has said that even publicly and we have to get that war over with. That's a bloody mess."