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The UK says it is going to develop new tactical ballistic missiles for Kyiv and put “modern weapons into the arms of Ukrainians” for his or her battle in opposition to Russia.
Code-named “Mission Dusk”, the missiles will assist increase Ukrainian firepower and be able to placing targets deep inside Russia, the Ministry of Defence stated in a press release late on Sunday.
The Dusk missiles will carry a 200kg typical high-explosive warhead and value a most £800,000 per unit, the MoD introduced, including that it plans to provide 10 methods monthly.
The announcement got here days after Russia attacked Ukraine with its new hypersonic Oreshnik missile, placing a metropolis about 60 miles from the border of Nato member Poland, with European leaders condemning the incident as a “clear escalation” and an try and “instil worry”.
“Underneath Mission Dusk, the UK has launched a contest to quickly develop ground-launched ballistic missiles with a spread of greater than 500 kilometres and designed to function in high-threat battlefields with heavy electromagnetic interference,” the MoD stated.
The Dusk missiles will allow Ukrainian forces to hit navy targets earlier than Russia can reply as a result of the brand new weapons will likely be “able to being launched from a spread of autos, firing a number of missiles in fast succession and withdrawing inside minutes”.
Defence secretary John Healey stated the UK was decided to arm Ukrainians with superior weapons “as they battle again”.
“The assaults in a single day on Thursday simply go to point out how Putin thinks he can act with impunity, concentrating on civilian areas with superior weaponry,” Mr Healey stated, referring to the Oreshnik strike.
“As an alternative of severely negotiating a peace, he’s severely escalating his unlawful struggle,” he added.
Mr Healey stated that whereas travelling to Kyiv final week, he was shut sufficient to listen to air raid sirens round Lviv.
“It was a severe second and a stark reminder of the barrage of drones and missiles hitting Ukrainians in sub-zero circumstances,” he stated.
Luke Pollard, the minister for defence readiness and business, stated the brand new long-range British missiles “will preserve Ukraine within the battle” and provides Russia “one other factor to fret about”.
“In 2026, we are going to proceed to face shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine,” the minister stated. “Offering gear to maintain them within the battle in the present day, while working to safe the peace tomorrow.”
In accordance with the MoD, the Dusk undertaking builds on the UK’s dedication to bolster Kyiv’s long-range strike capabilities and informs future tasks for Britain’s personal armed forces.
The undertaking will likely be awarded to 3 business groups, every of which is able to obtain a “£9 million growth contract to design, develop and ship their first three missiles inside 12 months for check firings”.
