Liz Truss vows to ramp up UK's military aid to Ukraine in 2023 as Putin issues new threat

UK's new Prime Minister Liz Truss has pledged billions of pounds of support, including military assistance to Ukraine ahead of her first international trip since being appointed to the office. This comes as  four separatist regions in Ukraine announced in a series of coordinated statements that they will hold "referendums" on joining the Russian Federation. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday announced a partial mobilisation in Russia and also warned the West that “it's not a bluff” that Russia would use all the means at its disposal to protect its territory.

It is to mention that the newly elected Prime Minister of the UK would be addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday and will focus on support for Ukraine and tackling the challenges to energy security during the meeting in New York, according to a summary of her remarks published by her office.

Taking to Twitter, Liz Truss wrote, “My focus at the @UN General Assembly is to continue working with our international partners to fix the global energy crisis, support Ukraine and defend freedom and democracy around the world.”

Following this, the official Twitter handle of the Prime Minister’s Office also tweeted revealing that the UK would match or exceed their “record 2022 military support to Ukraine in 2023.” 

UK to continue military aid to Ukraine as Putin renews warning 

Since the onset of the Russian invasion of Ukraine’s territory, Zelenskyy has received military aid and support in terms of equipment, arms and ammunition from various European nations. However, the bulk of the support came from the United States with the Pentagon’s Press Secretary Air Force Brigadier General Pat Ryder claiming that the security assistance given to Ukraine totals to $15.1 billion since the February 24 invasion of Ukraine.   

Britain takes the second spot in the list in its spending on military equipment to support Ukrainian defence against Russia. As per the UK government report, the military aid provided by Britain to Ukraine included a large number of rockets and missiles, 05 air-defence systems, 120 armoured vehicles, drones, GPS jamming equipment, anti-tank weapons, artillery, and more than 200,000 pieces of non-lethal military equipment.  

Apart from the vows of UK providing military aid to Ukraine, Britain’s PM Truss has also revealed that she aims to help end Europe's dependence on Moscow for energy.  Focusing on China’s activities in the region, Truss stressed in a meeting with Fumio Kishida on Tuesday that she plans to tackle "the strategic threat posed by China".