The United Kingdom has delivered hundreds of air defense missiles to Ukraine five months ahead of schedule, the British government announced during a trade delegation visit to Kyiv led by Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard.
The accelerated delivery comes as Russia steps up nationwide aerial assaults ahead of winter, systematically striking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with waves of drones and missiles. Ukrainian air defenses have intercepted hundreds of targets in single attacks, but the sheer volume of strikes - sometimes over 400 drones a night - continues to stretch their capacity.
The Lightweight Multirole Missiles, produced by Thales in Belfast, are part of the UK’s ongoing military assistance program and are used by Ukrainian forces to intercept Russian aerial threats.
London said the accelerated delivery underscores its “ironclad commitment” to Ukraine’s defense, as the UK increases its annual military support to £4.5 billion - the highest level since the full-scale invasion began.
The announcement coincided with the UK’s participation in Ukraine’s International Defence Industry Conference, where dozens of NATO-country firms discussed new partnerships to strengthen Ukraine’s defense manufacturing base.
Pollard said the visit aimed to expand industrial cooperation and ensure both nations’ industries are “ready to defend, deter, and support Ukraine.”
Thales is advancing the next phase of a £1.6 billion deal to further integrate the missiles into Ukraine’s air defense network, a step viewed as critical to boosting Ukraine’s domestic defense production capacity.
The UK-Ukraine partnership has also led to new cooperative projects, including the joint development of an advanced interceptor drone under “Project OCTOPUS,” designed to counter Russia’s one-way attack drones cheaper than traditional air defense missiles.
Ukraine’s largest drone manufacturer, Ukrspecsystems, is investing £200 million to open two facilities in Britain - part of the growing bilateral defense and technology cooperation between the two countries.
The missile delivery builds on Britain's expanding defense industrial partnership with Ukraine, which now includes funding 350 ASRAAM air defense missiles worth £70 million using interest from seized Russian assets.
London has also committed £247 million this year for training Ukrainian forces through Operation Interflex, which has trained more than 55,000 Ukrainian recruits since 2022, and completed delivery of 140,000 artillery munitions since January 2025.
The UK responded to Russian drones violating NATO airspace in Poland in September by announcing an additional £142 million aid package, explicitly linking the funding to Moscow's aggression and declaring "Ukraine's security is crucial to the UK's security."