UK to give Ukraine ‘tens of thousands’ of artillery shells

The United Kingdom is committed to delivering artillery shells, as well as air defence and long-range strike capabilities to Ukraine this year, UK defence secretary Grant Shapps announced on Tuesday.

He spoke as Ukrainian allies gathered in Germany for another Ukrainian Defence Contact Group meeting, a forum for coordinating military assistance to Kyiv to help bolster its Armed Forces in the face of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The UK has delivered over 300,000 artillery shells to Ukraine and is committed to delivering "tens of thousands more" artillery shells to help Ukraine defend itself, Mr Shapps said, without going into details.

"To ensure Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself as we approach winter, we have also set out how the UK will go further in the coming months in our priority support areas, including air defence and long-range strike capabilities, and training," he was quoted as saying.

The UK is one of the leading providers of military support for Ukraine, having provided GBP 2.3 billion worth in 2022 and having committed to maintain that support in 2023.

It was the first country to donate modern main battle tanks as well as training Ukrainian tank crews in the UK and delivering them within 11 weeks of announcement.