UK to Donate £120m for Maritime Aid to Ukraine

The United Kingdom has announced it will donate an additional 120 million pounds towards the Maritime Capability Coalition.

According to the statement released by the office of UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, the UK is also seeking partners to co-fund delivery of hundreds more maritime drones and surveillance radars to protect the Black Sea Grain Corridor.

The Maritime Capability Coalition is a joint collaboration announced by the UK and Norway in December 2023 to deliver a future naval fighting force to Ukraine. 

It has played an instrumental part in equipping Ukraine’s navy with items such as uncrewed surface vessels - also known as maritime drones - which protect the grain corridor.

This comes in light of Russia’s attempts to step up attacks on Ukrainian port infrastructure in the Black Sea, which delays vital aid from reaching Palestine, and prevents crucial grain supplies from being delivered to the global south.

“Those strikes are believed to have delayed the MV SHUI SPIRIT from departing Ukraine while carrying vegetable oil destined for the World Food Programme in Palestine,” the statement from the office of the Prime Minister reads.

According to intelligence, over the past three months, Russia has conducted nearly 60 attacks on ports, civilian ships, and grain storage facilities in Ukraine, resulting in almost 300 infrastructure facilities, 177 vehicles, and 22 civilian vessels being damaged or destroyed.

At least 4 merchant vessels have been struck by Russian munitions between the 5th and 14th of October. Amongst these are ships loaded with grain destined for Egypt, and vessels carrying corn for Southern Africa.

“Russia’s indiscriminate strikes on ports in the Black Sea underscore that Putin is willing to gamble on global food security in his attempts to force Ukraine into submission,” Keir Starmer noted.

This announcement from the UK comes as the government contributes another 2.26 billion pounds to the G7 Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) Loans to Ukraine scheme. 

This 50 billion dollar scheme from G7 countries will be delivered to Ukraine to bolster its military, budget and reconstruction needs.

Ukraine has already received dozens of all-terrain amphibious vehicles and raiding vessels, as well as hundreds of anti-ship missiles, and hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition from the Maritime Capability Coalition.

The European Union has responded to the increase in attacks by Russia on civilian ships by urging countries concerned to press Moscow into a ceasefire.

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