Britain will provide Ukraine with a £2.26 billion ($2.4 billion) loan to acquire more weapons systems, Defense Minister John Healey said on October 22.
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The announcement comes as Kyiv's forces are battling a fierce Russian offensive in the east, while facing daily strikes on its cities and energy infrastructure.
In the latest such strike, three people, including a child, were killed on October 22 in the northeastern Sumy region, which borders Russia, regional authorities reported.
The sum Healey referred to is part of a larger $50 billion loan for Ukraine announced in June by the Group of Seven (G7) developed countries. The loan is to be serviced by the revenues generated by Russian sovereign assets frozen in the West after the start of Moscow's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The frozen Russian assets are estimated at some $300 billion.
The loan is "earmarked as budgetary support for Ukraine’s military spending, enabling the Ukrainians to invest in key equipment to support their efforts against Russia, such as air defense, artillery, and wider equipment support," Healey said in a statement issued by the British government.
The loan is in addition to Britain's existing $3.9 billion annual military-aid program for Ukraine and comes on top of the $16 billion already committed by London in military, economic, and humanitarian support for Kyiv.
Russia has said the use of its frozen assets is illegal and threatened retaliation.
Healey and U.K. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves announced the loan while visiting Ukrainian troops training in Britain, the statement said.
"Our support for Ukraine and her men and women in their fight for freedom from [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s aggression is unwavering and will remain so for as long as it takes," it said.
The European Union, where most of the blocked Russian assets are located, has already committed 35 billion euros ($38 billion) as part of the 27-member bloc's share under the G7's Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) Loans to Ukraine scheme.
On October 22, three civilians' including a child, were killed in a Russian drone strike on Sumy, the regional administration said in a message on Telegram, adding that Ukrainian air defense systems shot down 25 drones over the region.
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Russian Drones Kill Child In Northeastern Ukraine
The Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down 42 of the 60 drones launched by Russia at eight regions -- Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya, Kyiv, Kherson, and Kharkiv.
In Russia, authorities in two regions reported that Ukrainian drones targeted three alcohol distilleries.
In the Tambov region, southeast of Moscow, a drone strike sparked a fire at the Biokhim ethanol distillery, regional Governor Maksim Yegorov said on Telegram. Biokhim is one of Russia's oldest manufacturers of "products of strategic importance for the state," mainly ethanol, the company says on its website.
In the Tula region, south of Moscow, Ukrainian drones struck alcohol distilleries, one in Efremov, and one in Luzhkovsky, regional Governor Dmitry Milyaev said, adding that there were no casualties.
Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defense systems shot down 18 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Ukraine, whose civilian and energy infrastructure has been pummeled relentlessly by Russian attacks, has in recent months been increasingly targeting Russian oil and fuel depots and other facilities working for the military.