Britain has earmarked a significant £200 million to prepare its armed forces for a potential future deployment to Ukraine, as the conflict escalates with a major Russian air assault on Kyiv that included a rare hypersonic missile strike.
UK Surges Investment Amid Kyiv Visit
Visiting the Ukrainian capital on Friday, UK Defence Secretary John Healey confirmed the new funding, which follows a declaration of intent agreed earlier this week by leaders including Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The money is designated for a multinational force that would be sent in the event of a ceasefire.
The £200 million will be spent on upgrading military vehicles, improving communication systems, bolstering counter-drone protection, and ensuring troops are ready to deploy if needed. Healey stated the announcement demonstrated the government was "surging investment" into preparations to support Ukraine.
Massive Russian Barrage and Hypersonic Warning
The UK's funding pledge comes against a backdrop of severe escalation. Russian forces launched one of the largest aerial attacks on Ukraine in months overnight, firing a total of 242 drones and 36 missiles at targets in and around Kyiv and the western Lviv region.
Critically, the assault included the use of a new, nuclear-capable Oreshnik hypersonic missile for only the second time in the nearly four-year war. The strike on western Ukraine was widely interpreted as a direct warning to Kyiv's NATO allies.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated the country would initiate international action, including an urgent UN Security Council meeting, in response. He called the strike, which landed close to the EU and NATO border, "a grave threat to the security on the European continent."
Civilian Toll and Infrastructure Damage
The human cost of the attack was stark. One person was killed in a residential area in eastern Kyiv that Defence Secretary Healey later visited. Ukrainian officials reported four people killed and at least 25 wounded in the capital alone.
Among the dead was an emergency medical aid worker. Four doctors and a police officer were injured while responding to the attacks. Twenty residential buildings in Kyiv were damaged, including the Qatari embassy, prompting Qatar to express "deep regret" though no staff were harmed. Russia denied targeting the embassy area, claiming it was hit by a Ukrainian air defence missile.
The assault crippled Kyiv's infrastructure amid freezing temperatures. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said nearly 6,000 apartment buildings—about half the city—were left without heat, with sub-zero conditions expected to worsen. Water supplies were also disrupted.
International Condemnation and Maritime Attacks
The leaders of Britain, France, and Germany condemned the overnight attack as "escalatory and unacceptable." EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas stated the Oreshnik launch was "meant as a warning to Europe and to the US," adding, "Putin doesn't want peace, Russia's reply to diplomacy is more missiles and destruction."
In a separate development, Ukraine said Russia struck two cargo ships in the Black Sea off its south coast, killing a Syrian crew member on board one vessel. One ship was heading to load grain, while the other was transporting soya beans.
As the war enters its 1,417th day, the combined events of the UK's preparedness funding and Russia's intensified bombardment mark a significant and dangerous phase in the conflict, underscoring the ongoing threat to regional stability.
