Throughout Defence Questions in Parliament, Defence Secretary John Healey outlined the UK’s continued navy help to Ukraine and NATO allies, warning that Russian aggression stays reckless and destabilising.
Responding to Conservative MP Andrew Cooper, who raised issues about current Russian incursions into Estonian airspace, Healey stated “Putin’s incursions into NATO airspace are reckless and harmful, and serve solely to strengthen the unity of NATO.”
He confirmed that the UK has prolonged its Storm fighter contribution to the Japanese Sentry train till the top of the 12 months, and harassed that “the UK stays the framework nation for the ahead land forces in Estonia — now we have nearly 10,000 UK troops there.”
Healey added that NATO’s swift response demonstrated the alliance’s cohesion, noting he would meet Joint Expeditionary Drive defence ministers in Norway later this week to debate additional coordination.
In a later change, Conservative MP Paul Davies requested about efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences amid intensified Russian strikes in opposition to civilian and power infrastructure.
Healey replied that “Putin’s aerial bombardment of Ukraine is cynical, unlawful and focused at civilians” and stated the UK had delivered greater than 200,000 rounds of anti-aircraft ammunition and a whole lot of air-to-air missiles to Kyiv this autumn.
He additionally highlighted new joint industrial initiatives to maintain Ukraine’s defences, describing “a first-of-its-kind joint programme for the brand new interceptor drone, the Octopus, which can be produced within the UK and manufactured at scale.” Hundreds of those drones, he stated, can be provided every month to assist defend Ukraine’s skies, cities, and power infrastructure.