The United Kingdom is sending thousands of drones to Ukraine to aid in the fight against Russia.
On Thursday, Grant Shapps, the U.K.’s defense secretary, unveiled a $160 million funding package during his visit to Kyiv, where he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov.
The funding is in addition to the $256 million drone package U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had announced in January.
Overall, the investment is expected to provide over 10,000 uncrewed platforms, including first-person view and one-way attack drones, to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
“Ukraine’s Armed Forces are using U.K. donated weapons to unprecedented effect, to help lay waste to nearly 30 percent of Russia’s Black Sea fleet,” said Shapps.
The drones, researched and manufactured by the U.K.’s defense industry, will be delivered to the Ukrainian military throughout 2024.
Unmanned platforms, which are quick and inexpensive to produce, have become invaluable in the fight in Eastern Europe.
Ukraine’s Armed Forces gained special attention for their creative use of drones to destroy Russian equipment and vehicles. Soldiers have deployed highly maneuverable FPV drones to go past Russian air defenses.