UK begins latest round of negotiations on defence exports to Ukraine
F-16s have started to arrive in Ukraine and the UK is providing pilot training. (Photo: US Air Force/Captain Andrew Layton)
Ministers from both country’s governments have met to ease the procurement pathway following the signing of a new treaty by both parties.
Maria Eagle, the newly installed UK minister for defence procurement and industry, met with her Ukrainian counterparts in August 2024 to begin negotiations for defence export contracts with the embattled nation.
The meeting with Ukraine deputy minister of strategic industries for European integration Serhiy Boyev and Ukrainian national armaments director Oleksandr Serhii was to set procurement negotiations in motion. It followed the signing of a new Defence Export Support Treaty by UK defence secretary John Healey and Ukrainian defence minister Rustem Umerov on 19 July. The treaty will let Ukraine draw on £3.5 billion (US$4.5 billion) of export finance to acquire military equipment
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