British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unveiled new military funding for Ukraine on Friday during a visit to Kyiv aimed at reassuring the country that the West is still providing support nearly 23 months after Russia’s invasion.

The package, worth 2.5 billion pounds ($3.2 billion) over the next fiscal year, is the largest the U.K. has given to Ukraine since the war began, surpassing previous annual commitments by 200 million pounds ($233 million), the British government said.

The package will pay for long-range missiles, thousands of drones, air defense, artillery ammunition and maritime security, according to Sunak’s office. It comes at a time when other financial aid from the U.S. and Europe is tied up by political wrangling.

Sunak and Zelenskyy signed a bilateral security agreement for the next 10 years. It will remain in effect until Ukraine acquires its hoped-for NATO membership, Zelenskyy said. Details of the agreement are to be released later, officials said.

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    The package will pay for long-range missiles, thousands of drones, air defense, artillery ammunition and maritime security, according to Sunak’s office.

    Ukrainian officials welcomed the U.K. announcement, pointing to it as evidence that Western support for its fight against its bigger neighbor is not waning, as some have feared.

    Kyiv has been urging the West to send more of the kind of aid the U.K. is providing as the grinding war brings little change along the front line and both sides turn to long-range strikes.

    The roughly 1,500-kilometer (930-mile) front line has been largely static during winter, and both Ukraine and Russia need artillery shells, missiles and drones that enable longer-range strikes.

    Zelenskyy is pushing Kyiv’s Western allies to provide more support on top of the billions of dollars in military aid the country has already received.

    “Today we are going further — increasing our military aid, delivering thousands of cutting-edge drones, and signing a historic new security agreement to provide Ukraine with the assurances it needs for the long term,” he said.


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