Britain and Ukraine are set to sign a defence partnership aimed at addressing the threat of low-cost drones, Downing Street announced ahead of a visit from Ukraine’s leader on Tuesday.
Since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran late last month, Tehran has mainly used ballistic missiles to attack Israel but has relied on drones to strike targets in Gulf states.
The UK-Ukraine agreement will “boost global defensive capability against the proliferation of low-cost, high-tech military hardware, including drones”, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office said in a statement.
It seeks to leverage Ukraine’s “expertise” in fending off drones from its years-long war with Russia, as well as Britain’s industrial base, “to manufacture and supply drones and innovative capabilities”.
“Drones, electronic warfare and rapid battlefield innovation are now central to national and economic security, and that has only been further magnified by the conflict in the Middle East,” Starmer said in the statement.
“By deepening our defence partnerships, we are strengthening Ukraine’s ability to defend itself from Russia’s brutal, ongoing attacks, while ensuring the UK and our allies are better prepared to meet the threats of the future.”
The deal would also provide 500,000 pounds ($670,000) to fund an “AI Centre of Excellence” to be integrated into the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to London on Tuesday comes after he expressed concerns that global attention on the Middle East conflict could overshadow Ukraine’s war with Russia.
Ukraine’s European allies have vowed to keep up their support for Kyiv after Washington partly rolled back sanctions against Moscow to cool oil prices sent soaring by the Middle East war.
