Britain puts its defense industry on ‘war footing’ by giving Ukraine $620 million in new military aid | AM 870 The ANSWER

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced Tuesday that the country is putting its defense industry on a “war footing” by increasing defense spending to 2.5% of GDP by the end of this decade, amid NATO concerns about possible consequences of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Sunak made the announcement during a visit to the Polish capital Warsaw to increase spending well above NATO’s 2% target. It followed a new pledge to send weapons worth 500 million pounds ($620 million) to Ukraine, including missiles, armored vehicles and ammunition.

He described the increased spending as the “greatest boost to our national defense in a generation.”

“In a world that is the most dangerous since the end of the Cold War, we cannot be complacent,” he said at a news conference alongside NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “Now that our adversaries are aligned, we must do more to defend our country, our interests and our values.”

Sunak pledged an extra 75 billion pounds ($93 billion) in defense spending over the next six years. The target of 2.5% of GDP spending was a reaffirmation of a target set by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2022.

Sunak and his Treasury chief, Jeremy Hunt, had previously only said the 2.5% target would be met if economic conditions allowed.

“We will put Britain’s defense industry on a war footing,” Sunak told an audience of British troops serving on NATO’s eastern front. “One of the central lessons of the war in Ukraine is that we need larger munitions stocks, and industry can replenish them more quickly.”

Under the new spending plan, the UK defense budget will increase immediately and then rise steadily to £87 billion by the end of the decade.

Ten years ago, NATO leaders agreed to spend 2% of GDP on defense spending. Britain has spent more than that over the past decade, but never more than 2.35% in 2020, according to NATO data.

Official UK figures show that defense spending last year was around £55.5 billion. NATO data showed this was around 2.07% of UK GDP, ahead of countries such as France and Germany, but behind Poland, the US, Estonia and others.

Sunak spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to confirm the assistance and “assure him of Britain’s steadfast support for the defense of Ukraine against Russia’s brutal and expansionist ambitions,” Sunak’s office said.

British authorities said the new commitment to Ukraine included 400 vehicles, 60 boats, 1,600 rounds of ammunition and 4 million rounds of ammunition, at a time when Ukraine is struggling to hold off advancing Russian forces on the war’s eastern frontline. year.

The shipment will include British Storm Shadow long-range missiles, which have a range of about 150 miles and have proven effective at hitting Russian targets.

Sunak said the British commitment “demonstrates that Ukraine is not alone, and that Ukraine will never be alone.”

However, Downing Street did not indicate whether the aid would be immediately available for delivery. Zelenskyy has called for more international aid and warned that without it his country will lose the war.

The announcement came three days after the US House of Representatives approved $61 billion in aid to Ukraine, as US lawmakers rushed to deliver a new round of US aid to the war-torn ally. The Senate was expected to vote on the package on Tuesday.

The ammunition shortage over the past six months has led Ukrainian military commanders to ration grenades, a disadvantage that Russia took advantage of this year by capturing the city of Avdiivka and is currently advancing towards the city of Khasiv Yar, also in the eastern region of Donetsk.

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Hui reported from London.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine