The UK announced more than £600 million in aid for Ukraine and the US announced $717 million in economic and humanitarian assistance in the first-ever joint visit by the top diplomats of the two nations.
David Lammy, in his first visit to Ukraine as foreign secretary of the UK, announced $484 million worth of loan guarantees for World Bank lending before the end of the year and "confirmed" plans to provide £242 million for 2024 to 2025 for immediate humanitarian needs as well as recovery and reconstruction, the UK government said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, meanwhile, announced $325 million in new funding to help repair Ukraine’s energy and electric grid, $290 million in new humanitarian support and $102 million to help remove land mines.
The two did not directly address pleas by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to let the Ukrainian military use Western-supplied weapons to strike deep into Russia, an act they have so far forbidden for fear of escalation.
The Ukrainian government has repeatedly asked the US, UK and other allies to use the weapons they supply to hit missile launch sites and other targets deep within Russia. Lammy and Blinken gave no such permission, but promised to discussed the requests with their government.
