Starmer to urge Coalition of the Willing to strengthen Ukraine's long-range capabilities
During a Coalition of the Willing meeting on Friday 24 October, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will urge leaders to provide Ukraine with long-range capabilities and announce that a UK missile building programme has been accelerated to deliver more than 100 extra air defence missiles to Kyiv ahead of schedule.
As reported by the UK government, the Coalition of the Willing meeting will take place in London this afternoon. Attending in person are Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. About 20 more leaders will join the discussions via video call.
During the meeting, Starmer plans to urge world leaders to do all they can to place Ukraine in the strongest possible position before winter.
"He will urge leaders to act to take Russian oil and gas off the global market, finish the job on Russian sovereign assets to unlock billions of pounds to fund Ukraine's defences and step up the gifting of long-range capabilities," Starmer said.
The leaders will also discuss what more can be done to strengthen the protection of Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
Starmer will also announce that a UK missile production programme has been accelerated, enabling over 100 additional air defence missiles to be delivered to Ukraine earlier than planned.
The package is part of a £1.6 billion deal concluded between UK industry and Ukraine in March to supply more than 5,000 lightweight-multirole missiles (LMMs) to support Ukraine's defence.
The contract tripled LMM production capacity and due to faster-than-expected progress, the delivery of an additional 140 missiles will be accelerated. They are expected to be transferred to Ukraine this winter.
Zelenskyy has arrived in the United Kingdom and has been received by King Charles III at Windsor Castle.
The most recent Coalition of the Willing meeting, held in early September, brought together representatives of more than 30 countries across Europe and beyond.