By Ben Kerrigan-
The UK will provide an additional £1bn in military aid to support Ukraine, against the Russian invasion.
The pledge came after President Zelensky urged Nato leaders to do more to help Ukraine’s war effort, and in the wake of increased attacks from Russia, the latest which killed 22 in a shopping centre in Ukraine.
False stories were subsequently spread by Russian Telegram channels and by Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations. They included lies that the attack was “false” or “staged” – and were repeated on Russian television.
The blatant lies also included a statement released by Russia’s defence ministry claiming the shopping centre was “non-functioning” and that the bombing of a nearby ammunitions dump sparked a secondary fire at the centre. Those claims were denied by Ukrainian officials.
Russian media also claimed the shopping centre was none functioning.
Mr Zelensky has continued to plead with Nato leaders for more supply of weapons, as he stated the monthly cost of defence for Ukraine was around $5bn (£4.12bn).
The UK is second only to the U.S in terms of military aid for Ukraine – the U.S recently approved a $40bn (£33bn) package of support.
Initially the UK supplied Ukraine with anti-tank missiles, but now it is providing more heavy weaponry.
The new British aid will go towards paying for “sophisticated air defence systems”, drones, electronic warfare equipment, and “thousands of pieces of vital kit”, the UK government said.
The new £1bn is set to come from departmental underspends, the UK government said, plus £95 million from the Welsh and Scottish governments’ budgets.
An “underspend” means departments spent less than anticipated, not that government finances were in surplus overall. Public sector borrowing was £151.8bn in the year ending March 2022, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Announcing the extra support, the government claimed the equipment was the first step to helping Ukraine recover territory lost to Russia, on top of their “valiant defence”.
Addressing Nato leaders at their summit in Madrid on Wednesday via video link, Mr Zelensky said they needed more modern weapons systems and artillery to “break the Russian artillery advantage”.
“Russia still receives billions every day and spends them on war. We have a multibillion-dollar deficit, we don’t have oil and gas to cover it,” Mr Zelensky said.
Also speaking in the Spanish capital, Mr Johnson said: “Putin’s brutality continues to take Ukrainian lives and threaten peace and security across Europe.
“As Putin fails to make the gains he had anticipated and hoped for and the futility of this war becomes clear to all, his attacks against the Ukrainian people are increasingly barbaric.
“UK weapons, equipment and training are transforming Ukraine’s defences against this onslaught.”
Scotland has also pledged £65m in military aid to support Ukraine, as part of its contribution to the Uk.
Finance Secretary Kate Forbes said the Scottish Government condemns Russia’s unprovoked, illegal invasion of Ukraine.
Forbes added: “Scotland stands for democracy, human rights and the rule of law at home and abroad.
“We have become a place of refuge and sanctuary for displaced people from Ukraine, and have done all we can to get help those fleeing the country to escape the violence.
“This further funding is to assist Ukrainian armed forces to fight Russian aggression and the unspeakable brutality being perpetrated.
“We have agreed to providing funding on this occasion given the clear need to maximise the international effort to support Ukraine.
“However, we are clear that this must not be seen as any kind of precedent which leads to devolved budgets being used to help pay for clearly reserved policy areas.”
The UK’s new funding is a significant increase on the £1.3bn of military assistance already provided, with Boris Johnson claiming British support was “transforming Ukraine’s defences” against the Russian onslaught.
Liz Truss said it was the Government’s “absolute priority” to help Ukraine win the war.
The promise of extra military support comes after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Nato leaders to do more to help his country resist Putin’s invasion.