UK unveils £10bn package for Ukraine: £7bn economic aid, £500m for air defence and £3bn in export finance

Three parts of the package

On 28 October, the day of the Budget, the UK government unveiled a new package of support for Ukraine worth around £10 billion in total. Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Chancellor John Healey held a phone call with President Volodymyr Zelensky the same day.

The package has three parts:

• £7bn of economic support over three years. Up to £5.5bn takes the form of guarantees for World Bank lending, and a further £0.5bn is a grant to the crisis facility of the International Development Association (IDA), expected to mobilise around £1.5bn more.
• An extra £500m for air defence this winter.
• +£3bn of capacity for UK Export Finance (UKEF). The limit for Ukraine rises from £3.5bn to £6.5bn, with priority given to military supplies.

How much the UK has given

According to the British government, military aid to Ukraine this year has reached £4.3bn, and London promises at least £3bn a year until at least 2030–31. In total, the UK’s commitments to Ukraine now stand at about £35bn: £16bn in military aid, up to £12.6bn in non-military support and £6.5bn through UKEF.

What UKEF has already financed

The government noted that, with UKEF backing, Ukraine has already received more than 5,000 air-defence missiles from Thales in Belfast, nuclear fuel from Urenco, the reconstruction of six bridges in Kyiv region using Scottish and Welsh steel, and minehunters from the Royal Navy fleet. The additional £3bn will let the agency finance strategic projects to strengthen Ukraine’s defence, energy system and transport reconstruction. UKEF’s overall limit is £130bn.

“Our support for Ukraine remains unwavering, and this increased access to finance will help British business support critical infrastructure across sectors,” said Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds. He added that British companies will keep supplying the skills, technology and equipment Ukraine needs as it rebuilds.

Kyiv’s reaction

Zelensky called the decision “a strong step and a very timely one”. “£7 billion of economic support over the next three years, plus £3 billion of British export support mainly for supplying the weapons we need, which will strengthen our protection of life. This is on top of the annual support Britain already provides to Ukraine,” he wrote after his call with Burnham.

The two sides also discussed sanctions. “Britain will remain principled on this. It is a globally important example,” the president said. “Every step to strengthen Ukraine brings Russia closer to the thought that it must end this war,” he added.

Context

A day earlier, on 27 October, the UK and Poland signed a three-year defence cooperation plan covering joint exercises, defence technology and increased arms production. The new British package came on the same day as the Netherlands announced €500m in military aid. For Ukraine it is an important signal ahead of winter: the air-defence money addresses the most acute need, while World Bank guarantees help sustain the budget and social payments.