The UK Government has set aside £200m ($267m) this year from its core defence budget to prepare the British Armed Forces for participation in the Multinational Force for Ukraine (MNFU).
Should this extend to and through the actual deployment, use of core defence funding for what is an open-ended commitment is a departure from the UK’s foreign operations into Iraq and Afghanistan, where costs were covered by the Treasury’s special reserve funding in order to avoid impact on planned defence spending.
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Defence Secretary John Healey revealed the funding during his visit to Ukraine, following a declaration signed in Paris by leaders from the UK, France, and Ukraine confirming that UK and French personnel will deploy if a peace agreement arises.
This financial allocation will support preparations for potential MNFU deployment by upgrading vehicles, communications systems, counter-drone protection and other force-protection equipment.
The move follows the announcement from the UK Prime Minister earlier in the week and is intended to ensure that troops can deploy at short notice if required.
John Healey MP said: “We are surging investment into our preparations following the Prime Minister’s announcement this week, ensuring that Britain’s Armed Forces are ready to deploy, and lead, the Multinational Force Ukraine, because a secure Ukraine means a secure UK.”
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By GlobalDataDuring his trip, Healey discussed further military planning for the MNFU with President Zelenskyy and Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal.
Healey also confirmed that production of British-built Octopus interceptor drones would begin this month.
These drones, designed by Ukrainian engineers and developed further by British industry, will aim to bolster Ukraine’s defence against Russian drone attacks targeting civilians and infrastructure.
The Octopus interceptors use battlefield data to intercept Shahed-style drones before they can reach strategic targets such as homes, hospitals or power stations.
The drones are designed for low-cost production and rapid manufacturing at scale. The drone design is updated every six weeks based on battlefield data to maintain effectiveness against evolving Russian tactics.
Do UK claims of Ukraine support stack up?
The UK said it intended to produce “thousands” of the new drones each month for deployment in Ukraine. Each interceptor costs less than 10% of the value of the drone it is intended to neutralise.
However, Shmyhal was subsequently quoted by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence stating that UK drone production would “reach 1,000… drones per month”, a distinct difference to the official UK claim.
This initiative forms part of a broader package that includes £600m committed by the UK this year towards Ukrainian air defence within a total of £4.5bn in military support.
In October last year, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) expedited the provision of critical air defence missiles to Ukraine, surpassing the initial delivery schedule by five months.
However, it was subsequently revealed by Army Technology the UK had failed to deliver any of its new Gravehawk air defence systems to Ukraine in 2025, due to supply chain, training, and weather-related difficulties.
There is considerable concern at the dislocation between claimed UK defence spending, and the reality on the ground, where vast tracts of military capability have been removed from the services, particularly the British Army.
It was not detailed what impact the use of £200m in core funding would have on UK defence programmes, amid a several-month long delay in the publication of the Defence Investment Plan.
Additional reporting by Richard Thomas.
