UK may join efforts to buy weapons from US for Ukraine
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has hinted that London may join Germany in purchasing weapons from the United States to be sent to Ukraine.
As reported by Bloomberg with reference to a source familiar with the matter, discussions on joining this proposal are at an early stage between the UK, the US and other European countries.
"We’re working with allies on the provision of capability" as well as "the backup that sits behind that to make sure any capability is effective in Ukraine," Starmer told reporters during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
He had been asked whether the UK would join Donald Trump's plan to send Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine by selling them to European allies.
This week, Trump promised more weapons for Ukraine and threatened 100% secondary tariffs on Russia if Vladimir Putin did not agree to a ceasefire within 50 days.
Trump said NATO member countries would pay for the weapons sent to Ukraine. Each Patriot battery costs more than US$1 billion, and the system's missiles cost about US$4 million each.
On Thursday 17 July, Starmer and Merz signed a new Kensington Treaty, which includes a commitment by the two countries to assist each other in the event of an armed attack, to deliver a new long-range missile system in the next decade and to cooperate closely on export licences for joint weapons systems. Merz's trip to the UK followed a more formal state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron last week, which was the first visit by a European leader since Brexit.
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19 of July 2025
