Britain declares to shift defense industry to wartime mode

RIA Novosti news agency quoted Polish news portal interia.pl as saying that at a briefing at the headquarters of the 1st Warsaw Armored Brigade, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that London would put the defense industry into a state of war.

Prime Minister Sunak explained that £10 billion will be allocated to support the UK's military-industrial complex. The money will be used to help British businesses "produce more, be better prepared to increase capacity and move to long-term production when required." Prime Minister Sunak assured that the UK will replenish its arsenal while supporting jobs across the country.

In addition, London plans to increase spending on research and development to at least 5% of the defense budget, invest more in building autonomous drones and establish a defense innovation agency.

Prime Minister Sunak also noted that Ukraine would be provided with military assistance "at the current level on a temporary basis", as long as Kiev deemed it necessary.

Earlier on April 23, the British Prime Minister confirmed that London would provide Kiev with its largest aid package ever, worth £500 million (more than $617 million), as well as 400 vehicles and thousands of weapons, including long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles.

Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron expressed little support for Prime Minister Sunak's policies. In March 2024, Foreign Secretary Cameron spoke out against the Ukraine peace initiative. According to the British diplomat, if London also supports negotiations to resolve the conflict along with supplying weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, "neither one nor the other will succeed."

The British Foreign Secretary described two possible scenarios, in which Ukraine seeks to push Russia aside. In Cameron's view, only then can the West move towards a brighter future, with a stronger NATO. He believes that otherwise, Europe and the whole world will face great instability./.