Boris Johnson pledges another £1.3billion to fund Ukraine’s fight against Russia

Boris Johnson has persuaded Chancellor Rishi Sunak to cough up the money to give his buddy President Volodymyr Zelenskyy the weapons he needs to stave off Russian advances.

Boris Johnson last night pledged a further £1.3billion to fund Ukraine’s fight against Russia, bringing total UK aid to £2.8billion.

The prime minister has persuaded Chancellor Rishi Sunak to cough up the money to give his buddy President Volodymyr Zelenskyy the weapons he needs to fend off Russian advances.

That is the most this country has spent on a war since 43,000 British troops were stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Prime Minister said: “Britain was the first country to recognize the scale of the threat and sent arms to help Ukrainians defend themselves.

“We will stand by this effort and work with our allies to ensure Ukraine can continue to push back the Russian invasion.”

And Mr. Sunak added: “The situation in Ukraine continues to cause immense suffering as new, tragic stories of Putin’s brutality emerge every day.

“We are steadfast in our support – and this additional £1.3 billion will ensure we continue to provide the necessary military and operational support they need to defend themselves against Putin.”

Mr Johnson and other G7 leaders spoke via video link with President Zelenskyy yesterday to discuss Ukraine’s long-term arms needs.

Last week, the prime minister pledged electronic warfare equipment, a counter-battery radar system, GPS jammers and thousands of night-vision goggles to be paid for with the new money.

There are also 5,000 anti-tank missiles, five air defense systems with more than 100 missiles and 4.5 tons of plastic explosives.

Mr Johnson and Defense Secretary Ben Wallace are due to meet British defense industry chiefs later this month

to talk about ramping up production – both to meet the demand created by the Ukraine war and to supply other countries that no longer want to buy Russian weapons.

The new money comes from the government’s reserve fund – cash reserved for urgent emergencies.