The UK is leading international efforts to secure peace in Ukraine
Ukrainian tank (Credit: Rawf8 / Alamy Stock Photo)
4 min read
These are serious times – war in Europe, ongoing conflict in the Middle East and growing Russian aggression.
This new era of threat demands a new era for defence. Three years into a war that Vladimir Putin thought he would win in three days, Ukrainians continue to fight with huge courage to defend their sovereignty. But this is not a war confined to Europe; with Russia’s illegal invasion aided by North Korean soldiers and Iranian missiles.
Putin claimed he wanted peace, but rejected President Donald Trump’s ceasefire. Putin claimed he wanted peace, but continues to drag his feet in negotiations. Putin claimed he wanted peace, but continues to launch drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian civilians.
We must now ramp up the pressure on Putin and ensure any peace – when it comes – is lasting. A strong, secure Ukraine is vital for our collective European security and Britain’s national security.
We can get half of all out-of-action Ukrainian vehicles – around 1,500 – back onto the frontline
That is why the UK is leading international efforts to reinforce Ukraine’s frontline and secure the peace when it comes.
On 10 April, alongside my French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu, I chaired the first defence ministers meeting of the ‘Coalition of the Willing’. Thirty nations gathered at Nato’s headquarters to continue our planning – across air, land and sea – on how Russian aggression could be prevented when this conflict ends.
But we cannot jeopardise the prospect of peace by forgetting about the war. Which is why, the following day, I also co-chaired a meeting of 50 nations and partners in the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) with my German counterpart Boris Pistorius. This is a moment for our defence industries, our militaries and our governments to step up – and we are. The UDCG meeting saw a surge in support to Ukraine of over €21bn.
For our part, the UK will provide a record £4.5bn in overall military support to Ukraine this year. As part of this, we announced a new £450m package which will boost Ukrainian troops in the ‘close fight’, strengthen our industrial links with Ukraine and boost British business too.
This includes a new project – led by the UK – which will see British firms help to repair donated armoured vehicles and other crucial kit. With the support of international partners, we believe we can get half of all out-of-action Ukrainian vehicles – around 1,500 – back onto the frontline.
I have long argued – including to The House magazine when in opposition – that the Ukraine conflict and growing global instability means Britain and our European allies must do more heavy lifting on European security. As a government, we are getting on with that job, with the biggest sustained investment in defence spending since the cold war announced by the Prime Minister in February.
Our historic commitment to increase spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP from 2027, rising to three per cent in the next parliament, will make Britain stronger and safer in a more insecure world, and make defence an engine for jobs and growth across all corners of the UK.
We are a party elected on a mandate for change. We are governing on an instruction to deliver. And we are a government delivering for defence.
Since July, we’ve implemented the most wide-reaching defence reform programme in 50 years to help fix what the National Audit Office called a “broken” defence procurement system under the Conservatives.
Our landmark Strategic Defence Review is well advanced and will be published this spring. We’ve given service personnel the largest pay rise in over 20 years, and brought 36,000 military homes back into public ownership to fix years of Tory underinvestment in forces housing. And we are creating an Armed Forces Commissioner to improve service life.
We signed the historic Trinity House Agreement with Germany and launched work on a new defence agreement with Norway. We’ve set bold new targets to tackle the recruitment crisis.
And we are driving forward work on a new Defence Industrial Strategy which will boost defence jobs in every nation and region of the UK.
Our Labour government knows that our first duty is to defend the nation and keep our people safe. So we are getting on with the job, delivering for defence to make Britain more secure at home and stronger abroad.
John Healey, Secretary of State for Defence
