Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey announced on Wednesday, while presenting the draft budget to the House of Commons, that the UK will allocate an additional £10 billion package of economic and military support to Ukraine.
According to Healey, the funds will be provided in the form of loans, export finance guarantees, and urgent military assistance of £500 million for this winter. The £500 million is intended to address Ukraine’s urgent air defence needs.
Of the total amount, £7 billion will consist of economic support over the next three years (including World Bank guarantees of up to £5.5 billion and a £0.5 billion grant contribution to a crisis mechanism), while £3 billion will represent an increase in the UK Export Finance (UKEF) limit, primarily for the supply of weapons. The total volume of export finance for Ukraine through UKEF will reach £6.5 billion.
Healey and Prime Minister Andy Burnham informed Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the package during a telephone call on Wednesday morning. According to the Chancellor, the Ukrainian president replied: “You’ve made my day.” In his statements, Zelenskyy described the decision as “a strong and very timely step” that shows Ukraine will not be left alone.
This is the largest single financial support package the UK has ever committed to Ukraine. It supplements London’s existing commitments, including annual military aid of at least £3 billion until 2030–2031 or “for as long as it takes.” According to the British government, the UK had previously pledged a total of around £25 billion to Ukraine.
The announcement came against the backdrop of an estimated Ukrainian funding shortfall of around €70 billion for next year. Healey also stressed that Russia continues to strike civilian infrastructure and that London intends to step up pressure through sanctions.
The package was presented as part of Healey’s first budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer. At the same time, the minister reaffirmed the course of increasing the UK’s defence spending.
