Germany has delivered the IRIS-T Surface Launched Medium Range, or SLM, ground-based air-defence system to Ukraine, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov tweeted on 11 October 2022. (Diehl)
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius and UK Secretary of State for Defence John Healey co-chaired a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) at NATO headquarters in Brussels on 11 April. It was the first time the UDCG was co-chaired by Germany and the UK.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said as she arrived for the meeting that European Union (EU) member states have committed over EUR23 billion (USD26 billion) in aid to Ukraine this year, up from EUR20 billion in 2024.
At the UDCG meeting, Healey announced a GBP450 million (USD592 million) military support package to be delivered by UK and Ukrainian suppliers. This includes GBP160 million of UK funding for repairs to and maintenance of armoured vehicles and equipment the UK has already provided to Ukraine, partnering UK companies with Ukrainian industry. It also includes a new ‘close fight' military aid package to fund radar systems, anti-tank mines, and hundreds of thousands of first-person-view (FPV) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) worth over GBP250 million provided by the UK and Norway.
Healey said in a press release on 10 April that the UK is providing GBP4.5 billion in military support to Ukraine this year, “more than ever before”. He went on to say, “The UK has sent around 400 different capabilities to Ukraine, with a GBP150 million package including drones, tanks, and air-defence systems announced on 12 February 2025, a GBP25 million package including drones, boats, and munitions announced on 19 December 2024, and 650 lightweight multirole missiles announced on 6 September 2024.”
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