Britain will provide £10 billion of additional economic and military support to Ukraine, Chancellor John Healey announced in his Budget speech on Wednesday 28 October. Healey said the package would be based on loans, export finance guarantees and £500 million in urgent military funding for this winter.

What the £10bn is made of

A Downing Street spokesperson said the £10 billion would be made up of £7 billion of economic support over three years and £3 billion in export finance capacity for Ukraine. The £500 million of military funding would plug urgent gaps in Ukraine's air defences, the spokesperson said. Healey told lawmakers that he and Prime Minister Andy Burnham had spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy before the Budget, and that Zelenskiy had told them: “you've made my day”.

Why the winter funding matters

The announcement sits alongside the Budget's wider defence commitments, including funding the Defence Investment Plan and working towards spending 3% of GDP on defence by 2030 and 3.5% by 2035. Healey said a £4.7 billion gap in the plan would be filled by reprioritisation across departments, with detailed plans for reaching the 3% and 3.5% goals to be set out in a spending review planned next year. Ukraine remains at war with Russia, and winter air-defence cover has been a recurring pressure point as strikes on energy infrastructure continue.

Sources: Reuters and Reuters (defence plan).