UK commits £200m to prepare British troops for Ukraine deployment

The United Kingdom will spend £200 million ($268 million) preparing British troops for deployment to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia, Defence Secretary John Healey has announced.

Healey was speaking after a one-day visit to Kiev on Friday, where he discussed plans for the Multinational Force Ukraine with President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The money will pay for upgrades to vehicles and communications systems, counter-drone protection and other equipment to ensure troops are ready to deploy.

Healey said: "We are surging investment into our preparations following the Prime Minister's announcement this week, ensuring that Britain's armed forces are ready to deploy, and lead, the Multinational Force Ukraine, because a secure Ukraine means a secure UK."

After the meeting, Zelensky said he was grateful for the UK's support, adding: "It is crucial that the framework for ending the war includes a clear response from the allies should Russian aggression be repeated."

Healey's visit to Kiev comes days after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to send troops to Ukraine as part of a "reassurance force" organized by the "coalition of the willing."

The size of the western force, which will also include soldiers from France, has not yet been announced, nor has the government provided details of how many British personnel it expects to deploy.

Reports have suggested the whole force could amount to just 15,000 men, with the UK providing half the total.

But in the Commons on Wednesday, Healey declined to give details, saying it would "only make [Russian President Vladimir] Putin wiser."

On Friday, Healey also announced that production would start this month on new Octopus drones for Ukraine, designed to intercept other drones used by Russia to attack civilian targets.

The UK aims to produce thousands of the drones per month, with each Octopus costing just 10% of the drones they are designed to intercept.

The announcement comes a day after Russia launched a huge wave of drones and missiles against Ukraine, striking civilian targets and energy infrastructure.

The attack involved more than 200 drones and 20 missiles, according to a British Defence Intelligence assessment, including an experimental hypersonic Oreshnik missile launched against Lviv, in western Ukraine.

The Oreshnik, an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), is believed to have been fired from 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) away and well within Russian territory.

Production of IRBMs was banned by the 1987 Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty between the United States and Russia, but the treaty collapsed in 2019 amid repeated accusations of Russian non-compliance.

Defence Intelligence said Moscow was likely to have only a "handful" of Oreshnik missiles, which cost far more than other missiles it has used to attack Ukraine, adding its use was "almost certainly intended as strategic messaging."