UK prime minister Rishi Sunak. Photo: Jessica Taylor/UK Parliament
Sunak is expected to announce the UK will supply hundreds of thousands of rounds of artillery ammunition next year to Kyiv in a £250m contract as part of a military aid package, which already includes rocket systems and anti-aircraft guns.
The prime minister will travel to Latvia for the leaders’ gathering of Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) countries, including Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania and the Netherlands, which will be addressed by Ukraine’s president, Volodomyr Zelenksiy.
Sunak is then expected to fly on to Estonia, where he will meet UK and Nato troops stationed near Russian border.
Ukraine has urged the west for more weapons to regain the initiative against Russia, after Russian drone and missile attacks targeting cities and energy infrastructure.
The head of the Ukrainian armed forces, Gen Valeriy Zaluzhny, said more supplies would be necessary to make further gains. “We need tanks, we need APCs, infantry fighting vehicles. And we need ammunition.”