Britain will allocate £200 million to train troops for deployment to Ukraine - Defense Secretary

John Healey emphasized that today he was ready to allocate £200 million to train British troops so that, in the event a peace agreement is signed, they could begin deployment from day one.

He added that Britain would begin production of new interceptor missiles in January, designed to counter Russian Shaheds.

Healey explained that Ukrainian intellectual property had been used alongside modern British manufacturing methods and that the missiles would be produced in large quantities. He noted that thousands would be supplied to Ukraine each month, which would help the country continue its fight today and contribute to long-term peace tomorrow.

The minister also reacted to the recent night attack by Russian forces on Kyiv, which caused power, water, and heating outages in many residential buildings.

He stressed that with temperatures currently at minus 10 degrees and expected to drop to minus 20 over the weekend, this further underscored why Britain, together with its allies, was increasing support for Kyiv and the Ukrainian people.

Cooperation between Ukraine and Britain

On January 9, Ukraine and Britain agreed to develop joint strategic projects in the areas of air defense and long-range weaponry. It was confirmed that from February, Kyiv plans to begin producing 1,000 Octopus interceptor drones per month.

In addition, the parties discussed prospects for localizing production of Gripen fighter jets, which use technologies from British companies, strengthening the defense of the Black Sea, and preparations for the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in February.