The U.K. will provide Ukraine with 55 million pounds ($69 million) in new humanitarian and economic assistance to promote a long-term partnership between the two nations, the British government announced on Feb. 5.
"This funding for social, humanitarian, and energy programs will strengthen our resilience. And this assistance is very timely right now," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said at a press conference with his British counterpart, David Lammy, attended by the Kyiv Independent.
Lammy is visiting Kyiv to discuss continued U.K. support for Ukraine as it is about to enter the fourth year of Russia's full-scale invasion. The U.K. official is expected to assess firsthand how British aid is assisting Ukraine on the battlefield and in civilian infrastructure recovery.
The new funding is part of a broader 100-year partnership agreement signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Jan. 16.
In addition to the financial aid, the U.K. will allocate 3 million pounds ($3.7 million) to supply Ukrainian grain and other food products to Syria, working with the World Food Program.
"Unlike Russian grain supplies to the brutal Assad regime, which attempted to buy favor while burdening Syria with costly debt, this planned support will provide a lifeline to the most vulnerable in Syria," the British government's statement read.
London previously committed a record 3 billion pounds ($3.6 billion) in military aid to Ukraine for 2024, including advanced weapons systems and munitions. The first 1.5 billion pounds ($1.8 billion) of a 2.26 billion pound ($2.7 billion) loan under the G7 program will also be released to fund major procurement projects for Ukraine's defense.
The loan will be repaid using profits from immobilized Russian assets, marking another step in the West's efforts to use Russia's frozen funds to finance Ukraine's war effort and recovery.
"We have agreed on the need to continue using frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine. In the near future, we will begin utilizing funds from the U.K. loan of more than 2 billion pounds ($2.5 billion) sourced from these assets," Sybiha said.
Martin Fornusek
