---
title: "UK announces new $2 billion deal to fund air-defence missiles for Ukraine"
description: "LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday announced a new 1.6 billion pound ($2 billion) deal that would allow Ukraine to purchase 5,000 air-defence missiles using export finance."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-03-02-uk-announces-new-2-billion-deal-to-fund-air-defence-missiles-for-ukraine/"
published: "2025-03-02T21:08:57"
updated: "2025-03-02T21:08:58"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 120
---

# UK announces new $2 billion deal to fund air-defence missiles for Ukraine

> LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday announced a new 1.6 billion pound ($2 billion) deal that would allow Ukraine to purchase 5,000 air-defence missiles using export finance.

By Reuters · Published 2 March 2025, 23:08 SAST · Updated 2 March 2025, 23:08 SAST

## Key points
- In a bid to bolster Ukraine's defenses against Russia's drone deluge, Britain's Ministry of Defence has enlisted Thales to whip up some lightweight-multirole missiles that promise to pack a punch from land, sea, or air—because who needs peace when you can have firepower?
- Britain's Ministry of Defence has announced that Thales will produce lightweight multirole missiles for Ukraine.
- The missiles boast a range exceeding 6 kilometers and are compatible with various launch platforms across land, sea, and air.
- Labour leader Keir Starmer emphasized their importance for safeguarding Ukraine's critical infrastructure and future peace.
- This development comes as Ukraine faces an unprecedented drone assault from Russia, marking the largest attack since the war began.

## Content

Britain's Ministry of Defence said Thales TCFP.PA will manufacture the lightweight-multirole missiles for Ukraine.

Thales said the missiles have a range of more than 6 kilometres (3.7 miles) and they can be fired from a variety of platforms on land, sea, and air.

"This will be vital for protecting critical infrastructure now and strengthening Ukraine in securing the peace when it comes," Starmer told reporters at a [summit in London](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N3PK07S&linkedFromStory=true).

Russia [last week launched](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N3PE00Y&linkedFromStory=true) more than 200 drones in an overnight attack, in what Ukraine said was the largest such attack since the start of [the war](https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraine-russia-war/) three years ago.

($1 = 0.7951 pounds)

(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill and Kate Holton, writing by William James; Editing by Conor Humphries)