UK announces joint drone-production with Ukraine

Prime Minister Kier Starmer has hailed a “massive step forward” in British military assistance for opponents of Russia

The UK has announced it will begin joint production of military drones with Ukraine.

Speaking in London on Monday after a meeting with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, British Prime Minister Kier Starmer hailed a “first of its kind” deal that represents a “massive step forward” in military assistance for Kiev. Zelensky described the development as “historic.”

Moscow has long described the UK as a key driver of the ongoing hostilities.

Neither leader disclosed specific details of the initiative, but both indicated that Ukrainian defense manufacturers stand to benefit from British battlefield technologies.

Zelensky was in the UK this week to meet with Starmer and speak at an event hosted by the Chatham House think tank. Zelensky mentioned production of “long-distance drones” during his speech. One such kamikaze drone hit a residential tower near Moscow early Tuesday morning.

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Russia has accused the UK of being directly involved in Ukrainian drone operations, particularly naval drone attacks targeting Crimea. Earlier this month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov asserted that Britain is also “100% involved” in Ukrainian intelligence operations, including those Moscow categorizes as acts of terrorism.

“It is obvious that all this is being done by the Ukrainian side, but it would have been helpless without the support... from the British,” Lavrov said.

In April, The Times reported that British troops have been present in Ukraine since 2022, the year the conflict escalated. The report stated British forces played a key role in deploying French-British Storm Shadow cruise missiles supplied to Kiev.

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who oversaw the UK’s early and extensive involvement in the conflict, has referred to the Ukrainian military as “our proxies” in interviews, as did some other Western former and current officials.