UK and France Increase Support for Ukraine, Struggling to Address Urgent Winter Needs

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 25 - The "Volunteer Alliance," led by the UK and France, held a meeting in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, on the 24th to discuss the supply of air defense equipment to Ukraine and other matters. The leaders of the UK and France pledged to increase military assistance to Ukraine, including sharing cruise missile manufacturing technology with Ukraine to establish production lines locally, as well as accelerating the delivery of air defense missiles. However, experts pointed out that missile production capacity will not be operational until next year at the earliest, while Ukraine needs to "safely get through this winter."

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More than a dozen leaders and dignitaries from European countries visited Kyiv on Ukraine's Independence Day, including Burnham, who took office as UK Prime Minister in July, marking his first foreign visit since assuming office.

At the "Volunteer Alliance" meeting, Burnham stated that he has approved the European missile group to share confidential manufacturing technology for the UK's components of the "Storm Shadow" long-range cruise missile with Ukraine, to facilitate the construction of missile production lines in Ukraine by France and Ukraine. The "Storm Shadow" missile was jointly developed by France and the UK, and according to Reuters, France had previously agreed to authorize Ukraine to use the relevant technology.

In response, Russia stated that the UK's plan to share cruise missile production technology with Ukraine is "adding fuel to the fire," and the Russian side gave it an "extremely negative" evaluation. Russian presidential spokesman Peskov stated on the 24th that the UK's actions are akin to "participating in the war" on Ukraine's side. The Russian military is collecting relevant information to determine possible production sites for the missiles in Ukraine and will take measures to "destroy" them.

Douglas Barrie, a senior researcher at the UK International Institute for Strategic Studies, told the Associated Press that the effectiveness of UK and French assistance in producing missiles in Ukraine will partly depend on when these missiles can actually be put into use. Alan Dawson, a researcher at the UK Freeman Air and Space Institute, believes that Ukraine urgently needs to enhance its air defense capabilities before winter arrives.

Insufficient number of air defense missiles

The "Patriot" air defense missile system is currently Ukraine's only weapon system capable of intercepting high-speed ballistic missiles launched by Russia. According to CNN, due to the large consumption of "Patriot" interceptors in the Iranian conflict that erupted at the end of February, the number of similar missiles supplied to Ukraine by the US and its allies has significantly decreased, and Ukraine's "Patriot" missile system "has not been operational for weeks."

Ukrainian President Zelensky appealed to allies for air defense equipment assistance at the "Volunteer Alliance" meeting. Zelensky stated that it is expected that in the entire year of 2026, the number of "Patriot" interceptors provided to Ukraine by Western allies will only be 264, reduced by more than half from 675 in 2023, while Ukraine needs at least 300 interceptors from this system to "safely get through this winter."

French President Macron, who attended the meeting remotely, stated that France will "do its utmost" to provide interceptors for Ukraine; other allies should also accelerate their delivery speed.

Burnham stated that the UK will strengthen industrial cooperation with Ukraine to provide cheaper alternatives for the "Patriot" air defense system used by Ukraine. According to Bloomberg, Burnham plans to visit the US in September with other European leaders to persuade US President Trump to allocate part of the "Patriot" interceptor stockpile to Ukraine before winter arrives.

Recently, the strikes between Russia and Ukraine against each other's industrial and economic infrastructure have continued to escalate. On the 24th, Ukraine launched strikes against four logistics hubs of Russian e-commerce giant Ozon and a Russian state-owned defense enterprise that produces missile fuel. The Russian Ministry of Defense later disclosed that its air defense systems intercepted a total of 351 Ukrainian drones that night. On the same day, Russia launched missile and drone strikes in the southern Ukrainian region of Odesa, targeting grain storage and energy infrastructure. (Wang Yifan)