The arsenal of weapons that the UK has sent to Ukraine

Britain is set to advance its support of Ukraine's military with the provision of ultra-long range Shadow Storm cruise missiles

- WILLIAM MATA, JOE SOMMERLAD

The Ministry of Defence announced the transfer on Thursday to boost Kyiv's forces in the event of a Russian spring counteroffensive.

Defence secretary Ben Wallace did not say how many of the UK’s 700-1,000 missiles would be sent. The rockets are thought to cost £2m each and the announcement came hours after Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky appealed for more Western help as his country pushes to defeat Russia by the end of the year.

A statement from the department on Friday said: “Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, bilateral military assistance has been stepped up, with many allies for the first time supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine.”

The UK has committed £4.6bn in arms, the second in the world behind the US ($37.6bn), and is also hosting a training programme with the aim of training 30,000 new and existing Ukrainian personnel by the end of 2023.

The announcement of the cruise missiles is the latest that Britain has pledged to support Ukraine as the war rages on. Here is what else has been given so far. All information was taken from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and was correct as of May 12.

Anti-tank missiles

Six-hundred Brimstone anti-tank missiles were pledged as part of a package in January 2023 and by the end of March the total number of such weapons was at 3,615.

This is a mixture of next-generation light anti-tank weapons, which have a range of up to 600 metres and weigh just 12.5 kilograms and Javelin anti-tank missiles, which have double the range but are twice as heavy.